A fourth Lenten message from Bishop Lane

In the Gospel of John, Jesus says an odd thing. He refers to his crucifixion as being lifted up, an act that will heal people as Moses lifting the serpent in the wilderness healed people. And an act that will draw all people to himself. In dying, Jesus will overcome the power of sin and death and will empower his followers to live in freedom from fear and to serve as agents of God’s love.

His words are surely solace to us. It is comforting to know that God understands what it means to be human, that God forgives us, that we will be drawn to eternal life with God. We all have a sense that we need that. And Lent is a time when we need to remind ourselves of these truths over and over.

But God has never been content to love us and leave us. Rather in loving us, God draws us to Godself, and invites us to share in the work. Forgiveness and reconciliation are our work, too. We are invited to declare God’s love and to seek ourselves to be reconciled with those who have hurt us and those who differ from us.

I suspect that few of us really feel empowered to be agents of God’s forgiveness and reconciliation. That feels like a lot of work. That feels risky. Look what it got Jesus. Are we really the ones whom God wants to share in this work?

I think the answer is an unequivocal “Yes,” because what is required is not dying on the cross, but dying to self, letting go of our fear of making mistakes, letting go of the thought we’re not enough, letting go of our desire to see big change if we’re going to take the risk. What’s required is simply to forgive in our places, among our people, and to seek reconciliation with those who are estranged from us. There are no guarantees, of course. People will not necessarily respond. But the end result is not in our hands. It belongs to God, and our job is to take the step, say the word, make the offer.

We begin, perhaps most simply, by asking to be forgiven, by considering the ways we have hurt others and have caused estrangement, to see ourselves as needing what we want others to experience. We need to join the human race. God loves the whole world, including us.

+Steve