Making Repentance Real

A Reflection for Ash Wednesday by Rev. Jessie Lowry

Lectionary reading for 2/17/2026: Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 or Isaiah 58:1-12; Psalm 51:1-17, 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10, Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Selected passage for reflection: Psalm  51:1-17

Read

Psalm 51: 1-17 New Revised Standard Version

Have mercy on me, O God,

    according to your steadfast love;

according to your abundant mercy

    blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,

    and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions,

    and my sin is ever before me.

4 Against you, you alone, have I sinned,

    and done what is evil in your sight,

so that you are justified in your sentence

    and blameless when you pass judgement.

5 Indeed, I was born guilty,

    a sinner when my mother conceived me.

6 You desire truth in the inward being;[a]

    therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.

7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

    wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

8 Let me hear joy and gladness;

    let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.

9 Hide your face from my sins,

    and blot out all my iniquities.

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,

    and put a new and right[b] spirit within me.

11 Do not cast me away from your presence,

    and do not take your holy spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

    and sustain in me a willing[c] spirit.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,

    and sinners will return to you.

14 Deliver me from bloodshed, O God,

    O God of my salvation,

    and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.

15 O Lord, open my lips,

    and my mouth will declare your praise.

16 For you have no delight in sacrifice;

    If I were to offer a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.

17 The sacrifice acceptable to God[d] is a broken spirit;

    a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Reflect

Psalm 51 is one of Scripture’s most profound expressions of repentance — but what does that “churchy” word really mean? The psalmist’s cry isn’t for mere outward ritual or superficial apology, but for a transformed heart.  It is not about fulfilling religious obligation, but about acknowledging brokenness and letting that honesty before God lead to transformative action. 

What makes Psalm 51 so bracing for turbulent times is that it refuses two temptations we cling to when everything feels chaotic:

First, it refuses denial.

“Against you, you alone, have I sinned… I know my transgressions.” 

This quote is not the language of excuse, spin, or self-justification. In moments of social fracture—violence, injustice, polarization, fear—we are often tempted to rush past confession straight to solutions or slogans. Psalm 51 insists that truth-telling comes first. Not vague regret, but honest naming: this is not how it should be, and we are not innocent bystanders.

Second, it refuses despair.

For all its rawness, Psalm 51 is not a psalm of self-loathing. It is a prayer addressed to mercy. “According to your steadfast love… according to your abundant mercy.” 

The psalm begins with the stubborn conviction that God’s mercy is greater than what has gone wrong. That conviction matters when the news cycle trains us to believe nothing can change.

In turbulent times, Psalm 51 widens repentance beyond private morality. The psalmist longs not just to be forgiven, but to be re-created.

And then there is the quiet but radical turn near the end of the psalm:

“Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.”

Repentance does not end in silence. Those who have been broken open by truth become agents of healing. In other words, repentance is not withdrawal from the world; it is preparation for faithful engagement. 

Finally, Psalm 51 speaks powerfully to this moment because it redefines what faithfulness looks like when trust in institutions, leaders, and even religious language is frayed:

“You do not delight in sacrifice… the sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit.”

When familiar rituals, policies, or traditions feel hollow or compromised, Psalm 51 reminds us that God is not waiting for us to get the performance right. God is looking for honesty, humility, and the courage to be changed—and then to live differently.

Psalm 51 is not an easy psalm—but it is a necessary one. And perhaps that’s why it keeps returning, generation after generation, whenever the world feels like it’s coming apart, God’s people dare to believe that repentance might still be a doorway to renewal.

Respond 

Where do you feel most tempted right now to rush past confession and straight into fixing—or blaming?

What would it look like to pray Psalm 51 without defending ourselves?

How do you distinguish between feeling sorry and being genuinely open to change?

What habits, assumptions, or comforts might need to be unlearned for repentance to be real?

What does it mean to say “we have sinned” in a culture that prioritizes individual innocence?

If God were truly creating something new in us, what might have to change in how we live, spend, speak, or lead?

Rest 

Gracious God,

Create in us clean hearts, and renew steadfast spirits within us.

Give us courage to confess where we have fallen short, and strength to repair what has been broken.

May our repentance lead to healing and justice, and may our hearts reflect Your mercy and love.

Amen.

About the Author 

Jessie has served as the sole pastor at Christ Our Anchor Presbyterian Church in Annapolis, MD, for the past 10 years. She is also a Board Certified Chaplain with a particular interest in issues of pastoral care. She attended Princeton Seminary for her M.Div. and serves on the Dismantling Racism Team of the Baltimore Presbytery. She is proud to have co-chaired the working group that created a successful proposal for the trailblazing Reparative Justice Fund. You can read more about that fund here. She is embarking on her first-ever clergy sabbatical this Spring and will love having more time with her husband, two young children, and her larger extended family.