Rushing the Resurrection (Chapter 11) (Monday in the fifth week of Lent)
PAUSE
As I enter prayer now, I pause to be still; to breathe slowly to recenter my scattered senses upon the presence of God.
(pause)
I pray Psalm 40: 17, repeating the words slowly, several times:
“But as for me, I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer; you are my God, do not delay.”
REFLECT
Bible: The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body as laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment. (Luke 23: 55-56
Comment and book passage: I describe attending a funeral where everyone seemed a bit too keen to “solve” the unfathomable tragedy of our friend’s death: I drove away later thinking how very fragile our faith must be if we can’t just remain sad, scared, confused, and doubting for a while. In our fear of unknowing, we leapfrog Holy Saturday and rush the resurrection. We race, disconcerted, to make meaning and find beauty where there simply is none. Yet. (p.172)
ASK
Ask myself: Is it possible that I am trying too hard to make sense of things, rushing to fix things, instead of just living with mess for a while? Do I ever feel pressured to tidy up my feelings, my questions, or even my theology for other people? Ask the Lord: I take time now to ask the Lord to help me be more okay with not being okay, requesting courage to be vulnerable and grace to live with more mess … for now.
YIELD
The serenity prayer of Reinhold Niebuhr:
God, Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next. Amen.
