Wednesday, March 27, 2024
Holy Week has arrived. It is the most difficult, complex week in the Christian year. Yet it is also the most profound, the most powerful. Unequivocally and without any reservation it states that God in Jesus shares in the pain of the world, helps us to recognize that suffering is the common denominator for all of creation – that suffering can break down barriers between us – as long as we don’t participate in the most common of all human follies – scapegoating.
Holy Week invites us to walk with Jesus in his suffering and open ourselves to the suffering that lies within us and within all people we meet. Holy Week, from a Christian perspective binds us together as human beings and readies us to hear the good news of Easter – that suffering is not the end, that love is more powerful yet. But here is the rub - we cannot comprehend it, unless we are willing to open ourselves to our own suffering and the suffering of others.
To that end we continue to try to let things go, during Lent, to try to give certain things up. This week in the final days of Lent, before that glorious day of resurrection, I invite you to give up the following:
Day 37 of Lent – Wednesday, March 27 – please give up a small view of the suffering of Jesus. We have heard the story so many times. It is horrifying. We shrink from it. We don’t want to hear it. Sometimes we think, ‘Well Jesus was both human and divine so he had some divine power that we don’t have to get him through it all’. But Jesus was human, just like you and I. His suffering was intense. Yes he leaned into God – and even today calls us to do the same in the midst of the suffering in the world.
Day 38 of Lent – Thursday, March 28 (Maundy Thursday) – please give up a small view of suffering in the world. Jesus saw the suffering in the world around him. He did not ignore it. On the contrary he walked side by side with those who suffer, making their suffering his own. He took it on. Today we want to shrink from the suffering in the world. Here in North America we can tune it out so easily. Yes there is suffering here in North America – we cannot discount it. But the suffering in war which is perhaps the greatest evil in the world is beyond what we can comprehend unless we have experienced ourselves. My father grew up in war. He was 10 years old when the war began, 15 years old when it ended. He saw and experienced things no child should ever have to experience. Looking back, his whole life he suffered from PTSD. Of course no one acknowledged PTSD back then, but those caught up in war, both civilians and soldiers all experienced some form of PTSD. Today in Gaza thousands of children suffer from PTSD. The Israeli children who witnessed the attacks of October 7 suffer from PTSD. On this night, long ago, after he had supper with his disciples Jesus went into the garden to pray. The disciples who went with him all fell asleep. But as Jesus prayed he sweated blood. Its called hematohidrosis. Normally people with bleeding disorders suffer from it, but it can also occur in people who experience incredibly high levels of stress. The power of Christianity is that in Jesus we can see the suffering in the world. In Jesus we see solidarity with those who suffer. Please give up a small view of the suffering in the world. Today allow the suffering of the world to touch you – even if only for a moment. Then, and only then can we truly celebrate Easter on Sunday.
Day 39 of Lent – Friday, March 29 (Good Friday – sometimes called God’s Friday) – please give up a small view of the evil in the world. If the greatest evil in the world today is war, what causes war? Greater minds than mine may have more effective answers to this question. But from my perspective as I see what is happening in the world today there is a lust for power and control, an increasing malignant narcissism, and a fast growing gap between the rich and poor fueled by a politic called neo-liberalism. Those three things co-mingled invite an extreme nationalism that pits human beings against each other and leads to war. It is an evil that has the capacity to destroy the world. Echoes of all three of these are present in all societies. Echoes of these three were present at the time of Jesus. It could be argued that these are the evils that got him killed.
Day 40 of Lent – Saturday, March 30 – please give up a small view of the necessity to grieve. There is a story of a group of university students who met their New Testament professor in the halls on the Saturday night before Easter. They said, “Happy Easter, Professor”. He replied, “not yet, not yet”. Taking time to grieve is essential for every human being. If what we all have in common is suffering, take time to grieve is a universal need. Yet so often we want to fast forward through it. Grief is present wherever love exists. We grieve because love come first. Grief and love are two sides of the same coin. When we resist grieving, when we don’t take the time and intention to grieve, we rob ourselves of the ability to love fully and completely. On this Saturday before Easter, as much as you are able, live in your grief. Know that it is a companion that is not an enemy. Know that every person who has ever lived has experiences of deep grief. If to be human is to love, then to be human is also to grieve. There are no short cuts. Grieve today on this 40th day of Lent so that you can fully celebrate tomorrow on Easter Sunday.
My prayer is that these reflections during the 40 days of Lent have been helpful to all of you. Thank you for journeying with me towards Easter Sunday.
Love to you all,
Marty (he, him)
Minister, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church