Change Direction" by Rev. Gilbert Martinez, January 25th, 2026 - Christ Church UCC Des Plaines

And from far away, you would think that it's some it's an actual person, but it's a statue of Jesus sleeping on the bench. Now if you're not familiar with that, in this country, at least, it has been used more to signify having a heart for those who are without homes. There are some churches who have paid to have a bench with Jesus sleeping on him put out to remind people that those who are without a home are just as human as we are, and they are made in the image of God as well. [00:00:34] (37 seconds)  #SeeTheHomeless

When Jesus begins his public ministry, the first thing Matthew tells us is not about a miracle. It's not about a sermon. It's not about a crap. It's about an arrest. When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, that is not a throwaway detail. It is political context. Jesus is imprisoned because he told the truth to power. He confronted a corrupt ruler. He named it justice. And the state responded the way powerful systems always do when they feel threatened. They silence the prophet. They criminalize criminalize conscience. They treat truth as danger. [00:01:36] (43 seconds)  #SpeakTruthToPower

That word repent has been badly distorted. It does not mean wallowing in shame. It does not mean private guilt over personal mistakes. It means reorient your life, turn around, change direction because the world is moving one way and God is moving another. [00:18:43] (18 seconds)  #RepentToReorient

This is not a spiritual escape from the world. This is a confrontation with the world as it is. That is why the text speaks so powerfully to this moment because we're living in a time when dissent is again being treated as danger, when people who expose injustice are labeled enemies, when immigrants and asylum seekers are dehumanized, detained, and denied due process, When families who follow the law are treated as disposable, when those who protest cruelty are as branded as criminals. This is not new. It is ancient. [00:22:17] (36 seconds)  #FaithIntoTheFray

Any system that confuses power with righteousness stands under the judgment of the gospel. That is why his message is so dangerous. Change direction. Authoritarian systems do not fear violence as much as they fear repentance because repentance means people stop agreeing with the story they are being told. [00:25:44] (21 seconds)  #RepentanceThreatensPower

This is Christian nationalism. It is not Christianity. It's a fusion of religious language with political power. It places a nation above the gospel, a state above conscience, power above people. It baptized domination in god language. Jesus does not build a a holy nation. He builds a healing community. [00:26:05] (28 seconds)  #FaithNotNationalism

That is the bridge between scripture and action because the gospel that never preaches our choices is not yet the gospel preached that Jesus preached. So the question becomes unavoidable, not simply what is wrong with the world, but what direction am I walking? So the question before us is not whether the world is broken. We know it is. The real question is, will we change direction? Will we keep drifting the systems that profit from fear, or will we return towards the reign of God that draws near in Jesus? [00:27:49] (39 seconds)  #TurnTowardJustice

Because repentance is not private spirituality. It is public transformation. It means changing how we speak about immigrants, changing how we respond to the state violence, changing how we treat those who protest injustice, changing how we measure security, power, and success. [00:28:28] (18 seconds)  #PublicRepentance