Thursday of the Third Week of Lent

Lectionary: 240

This is what I commanded my people:
Listen to my voice; then I will be your God and you shall be my people. Walk in all the ways that I command you, so that you may prosper.

But they obeyed not, nor did they pay heed.

 

The gospel readings of the last three weeks of Lent are taken from the Gospel of John, the gospel of crisis. But all four gospels demand the same thing, a resolute obedience to the Word of God. As we prepare to participate in the drama of Holy Week, we contemplate Jesus’s resolve and our own readiness to walk in all his ways. But mostly we meet our reluctance.

Hamlet’s soliloquy – “To be or not to be…” – speaks of our irresolution. We would readily take arms against a sea of troubles if we were sure our opposing would end them. Young men have marched off to war for tens of thousands of years thinking their valor and sacrifice would make a huge difference. Those who survive the war spend the rest of their lives insisting they did accomplish something, though not as much as they hoped.

Jesus offers another, more satisfactory way. In him we see that God's Victory has been won, but not in our time, and not by our timing. No one should expect their sacrifice is going to end all wars or make the world safe for democracy. If one man’s sacrifice could do that, Jesus’s would have.

And we believe that it did! Because his life, death, and resurrection opened human history to the flooding, effusive presence of the Holy Spirit. As Julian of Norwich said, “All things will be well; and all things will be well; and all manner of things will be well.” By our surrender to the Spirit – that is, by “Listening to my voice” – we become the people of God and accomplish God’s purposes.

And so, we pray daily, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done.” Even as we hear and absorb the demands of Lent, we know our radical transformation might not look all that different to our friends and family. But our thoughts, feelings, and reactions are guided by the Holy Spirit, and we act in the confidence that God has our back. Daily we reflect upon our experience: “Lord, I want to do your will. Was I listening for the Spirit when I spoke, acted, and reacted? Or was I compelled by an alien spirit?”

Often, we will acknowledge our failure: I spoke too soon; I reacted in anger, fear, or greed; I did not listen to their concerns but thought only of my own. And then we  turn back to the Lord, relying on God’s merciful patience.

It is not terribly difficult. Jesus assures us, “My yoke is easy; my burden is light.” But it is very important. The salvation of the world depends upon our readiness to, “Walk in all the ways that I command you.” If we can’t do much, we can do something.