Matthew 9:10-17
Give Up the Judas Mentality
We weren’t created to suffer. I know that might come as a shock to some of you given the chaotic last…few centuries...but it’s true. Being created in the imago Dei, our lives were and continue to be intended to reflect the likeness and love of God. God’s perichoresis—the divine dance between the three persons of the Trinity—is a heavenly waltz of pure and unfiltered love for each person involved, while also existing ‘of one being’. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are the three persons in one whom share this eternal and ineffable love for each other; inseparable yet distinct persons, eternally bound together in unity and Godly love. Humanity was made as a direct reflection of that love. We were created to be with one another, not to be siloed and autonomous singularities. We need each other to thrive. We need one another to better understand ourselves. We need our neighbors to show us their created beauty and to reflect ours back to us. We weren’t created to suffer.
We were created to love.
Why the theological exposition? Because we give up the dumbest things during Lent for no damned reason at all, except to exact self-suffering. Think about it: Does giving up chocolate or social media point to the glory of God? Unless you’re addicted to either of those things, the answer is a resounding ‘NO’. Furthermore, if you are an addict, then quite frankly you shouldn’t be partaking in them anyway. Living a sacrificial life means giving up those things that place a boundary between us and God; living a sacramental life doesn’t mean abstaining from the cup at the altar when you’ve given up booze for Lent! Put plainly: M’n’M’s aren’t what’s stopping you from falling deeper in love with God. Hatred, division, self-righteousness? Those are the tools used to build a wall between us and our creator. I believe that’s what Jesus is talking about in today’s scripture.
If Lent is about preparation and introspection, then let it be so. Perhaps giving up takes on new meaning when considering the ‘why’ behind it. Have you held a grudge against your enemy? Give it up. Don’t let anger live rent-free in your heart. Have you sought solace in earthly activities rather than seeking understanding and grace from God? Give them up. Have you allowed your time to be monopolized and manipulated to the extent that you no longer regularly pray or attend worship? Give that time up. What we give up to God we receive back as holy. If we give our time, our concerns, and/or our hopes to God, what we get in return is beyond anything we could possibly have done ourselves. We weren’t meant to give up the things that make us happy to please God—not if they’re within reason. No, we were meant to give up ourselves, our souls and bodies, to be reasonable, holy, and living sacrifices to God. That means our time, our love, our essence. Not Cheetos or Scotch.
These next forty-six days (yes, even Sundays *gasp*), I implore you to give up the things separating you from the person next to you. Give up your hatred. Give up your grudges. Give up your divisive actions. Give up your need to be right rather than in relationship. Give up your time for someone who needs you. Give up a dollar or two to the woman on the corner holding a cardboard sign. Give up the Judas mentality that we can overcome regimes and replace them and, instead, recognize that this world isn’t ours to save. That’s already been done by Jesus Christ. This world is ours to live in with as much dignity and respect for one another that we can muster. But even above that, to do so with love in our hearts for every. Single. Human. Alive. No exceptions.
We weren’t created to suffer. We might from time to time, but that’s life in an imperfect world. We were created to be the harbingers of joy, faith, hope, and love; to be the hands and feet of Christ. This year, instead of giving up something meaningless, why not try something new? This year let’s face each other with determined hearts and pray to God to help us see each other as beloved creations. Let’s sit with someone different than us and learn their story rather than shout our own. Let’s not walk away from our neighbor, let’s walk toward them. Maybe this year is the year we can stop giving up something random and start a new practice.
Never giving up on each other.
Meditation by the Reverend Sean A. Ekberg
Rector, Episcopal Church of the Resurrection
Diocese of Oklahoma