We are prompted by God to move from death to life, but it doesn’t always happen at the pace we wish
Since we are at the midpoint of Lent, it is appropriate to deal specifically with the dying part of the Paschal Mystery. So much of the Bible is filled with the teaching that we must die so that we might be able to live. We are called to voluntarily choose dying to self, especially for the sake of others. When we choose to make some space within ourselves, there is a certain amount of dying that comes with it. We die to the way life used to be, we die to the possible options that are lost when we let go of certain things or people, and we die to the fantasy that we control our lives.
It becomes easy, in our modern world, to believe that we call the shots and are masters of the universe. All it takes is one unexpected death or one surprise diagnosis to remind us that life does not always go our way, and we cannot always be in control. We are asked during Lent to practice emptying ourselves so that when it happens outside of our control, we’ve at least dealt with it in some way. But what is to be gained by dying?
One thing we know for sure is that a person must die in order to rise again. We’ve been to enough Ash Wednesday services to be reminded that we are dust and to dust we shall return. We know the effects of old age and sudden illness. We know how frail the human body can be, even if we exercise regularly and eat the right kind of food. Heredity and environment determine so many things about when we live and when we die. But what is to be gained by dying?
I want to be clear with my intention in this writing. If we’re feeling hopeless and life seems to have less meaning, this is not the right time to increase our suffering and loss. We should be compassionate and do the many things that could possibly bring us joy and peace. Let this time of struggle be the chance to love ourselves more deeply in life. But if we are feeling strong, and maybe even stuck in a rut, now might be the perfect time to take up the invitation to choose to have less rather than more and choose to be more empty rather than full. The whole idea of fasting and abstinence during Lent is to create space to empty ourselves.
The Gospel story for the fifth Sunday of Lent reminds us that Mary and Martha had to wait for Jesus to show up at their home after their brother died. They didn’t get the rapid satisfaction of Him showing up quickly and raising Lazarus from the dead. They didn’t even get the comfort of Jesus’ presence during their suffering. Even after He heard the bad news, He decided to wait a while. Many who have read this story wonder why Jesus delayed His arrival. We certainly know He wasn’t teasing them or making His miracle look even more incredible. Why did He wait, and what emptiness was created because of His waiting?
We have God’s promise that He will open our graves. The places in which we are dead or dying will move toward life, but maybe not at our convenient pace. Maybe there is some enduring suffering that we are being asked to embrace. Maybe there is something in us that is urging us to live a less comfortable life for the sake of others who have very little. Maybe there is something in us that is urging us to reconcile even with our fiercest enemy. Maybe we are being asked to stretch our finances and become a little less secure for the sake of someone else’s life. The promise that God will bring us to life has already been spoken and will be true. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Will we trust that promise?
