Lectionary: 220
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world
yet lose or forfeit himself?”
but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world
yet lose or forfeit himself?”
"Why Richard, it profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world... but for Wales?"With those words in the play, A Man for All Seasons, Saint Thomas More taunted his former friend Richard Rich. The play depicts the moral disintegration of an honorable friend of the saint, even as it describes the heroic ascent of an honest man to martyrdom and sanctity.
Lent is that season in which every Christian asks, "For what would I sell my soul?" Only occasionally does the question come so starkly. Perhaps as a couple struggles to save their marriage, or an alcoholic ponders the waste of his life the individual realizes the arc of his life has plunged into depravity.
More often we notice the little things: the bad habit that crept into our lives after one bad choice; the short cuts we have discovered; or the difficult people we avoid. Why is it so easy to start a bad habit and so difficult to choose a good one? Conversely, why is it so hard to stifle a bad habit and so easy to forget the good one?
Perhaps heaven will be that state of grace where one simple decision will squelch the bad ones and adopt the good ones.
We often think Lent will be like that: "I'll quit (____ing) on Ash Wednesday and I'll start (____ing) on Ash Wednesday." I don't know about you but it usually takes far less than forty days to prove me wrong!
The angels, I am told, being non-corporeal, made one simple choice at the moment of their creation. The demons refused to worship a human being named Jesus of Nazareth; the angels grabbed the opportunity.
But human beings are creatures of time, matter and space. Everything worth doing takes time, costs effort and demands sacrifice. Our salvation is spread out over years, as is our dissolution.
And so annually we take forty days to ponder the authority of Jesus and his invitation,
“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himselfHow must I deny myself today? What is my cross today and how will I carry it with gratitude and joy?
and take up his cross daily and follow me."
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.