Lectionary Reflection — 25 February 2018, Second Sunday in Lent
He then began explaining things to them: “It’s necessary that the Son of Man proceed to an ordeal of suffering, be tried and found guilty by the elders, high priests, and religion scholars, be killed, and after three days rise up alive.” He said this simply and clearly so they couldn’t miss it.
32-33But Peter grabbed him in protest. Turning and seeing his disciples wavering, wondering what to believe, Jesus confronted Peter. “Peter, get out of my way! Satan, get lost! You have no idea how God works.”
34-37Calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for?
38“If any of you are embarrassed over me and the way I’m leading you when you get around your fickle and unfocused friends, know that you’ll be an even greater embarrassment to the Son of Man when he arrives in all the splendor of God, his Father, with an army of the holy angels.”
Other Readings:
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On this second Sunday of Lent, we’re given a passage that, if one’s not careful, could be seen as a denial of the material world. Jesus mentions things like “your true self” and “the real you.” For some people this “real you” is the “soul” Jesus mentions later. That is, the “real you” is “spirit” in opposition to the “body.” But that’s not at all how Jesus nor his contemporaries in first century Jewish culture would have understood these words.
For a lot of people today, however, life is divided into two categories — spirit and matter. For some people, spirit is the “true self” whereas for other people it’s matter that’s the “real you.” But for Jesus, the Bible, and the ancient Celts, the “real you” is the whole person — both spirit and matter (or spirit, soul, and body2). Therefore, if one part is neglected, then the whole person, the “real you,” isn’t healthy.
So, then, what does Jesus mean?
I think what he’s talking about is what we’ve neglected. That is, we may be too focused on the physical part and have neglected our spirit. He says as much in another place:
25-26“If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There’s far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to God than birds.
27-29“Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion — do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.
30-33“If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers — most of which are never even seen — don’t you think God will attend to you, take pride in you, do the best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way God works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how God works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.
34“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.”
27-29“Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion — do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.
30-33“If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers — most of which are never even seen — don’t you think God will attend to you, take pride in you, do the best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way God works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how God works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.
34“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.”
But we do just the opposite of this, don’t we? In the passage above, Jesus is not talking about “want” but about “need.” The same is true in our Lectionary passage. He asked, “What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you?” It seem that it’s only when we get unbalanced — not seeking God’s way, “the way of Self-sacrifice” — that we lose our true selves.
The Lenten Season is a time to reevaluate our lives and find the imbalance. Once found, we need to lean into Christ — the “pioneer and perfecter” of our faith (Hebrews 12.2; CEB3). Jesus is our “forerunner” entering into the very presence of God, leading us to Himself. When we examine our lives we lay it against this path, this Way of self-sacrifice. If there are places in our lives that are wanting (and I have many such places) then we need to pray for help and guidance. We need to listen to all of life, not just the “spiritual” parts, but the material parts, too. We need to look — to see — with eyes and hearts wide open and learn from others, including the natural world around us. This will help us become more balanced people of The Way.
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In the Love of the Three in One,
Br. Jack+, LC
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1. Scripture quotations marked (MSG) taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
2. I realize that for some people, spirit and soul are two distinct things. But, for the sake of expediency, I’m using them as the same thing.
3. Scripture quotations marked (CEB) are taken from The Common English Bible. Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible.
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