Not I

“From dust to dust you shall return” … not the words a father of a young child wants to hear. A marked man, ashes cross my forehead while thoughts of original sin … sin of the community of which I belong re-cycle through my mind. Each year, I am reminded of the sin I am born into and for which I am complicit during the Lenten season and introduced on Ash Wednesday.

“Not I,” I naturally deny, offended anyone would suggest it so. It’s easier to digest watching the crucified Christ than it is to admit to driving the nails. My stomach turns as I raise the hammer and avoid all possible eye contact with the Creator. As I crucify Him, am I proclaiming myself god by action? 
I have read there are three cultures in the world resting upon their own foundations. Political cultures work to gain and exercise power. Economic cultures work to dominate wealth. Religious cultures work to manipulate some theory about God. Franciscan theologian, Richard Rohr states, “All three are based upon some form of violence, although it is usually denied by most participants and hidden from the superficial observer.” Evil gains a pervasive yet significant foothold on societies. It’s this pervasive darkness God sent His only Son to destroy. As I proclaim I am prolife, do I also defend and support all life, the poor, disabled, gay, atheists, elders, imprisoned …? Do I assist in caring for a healthy, clean environment? Do I support economic justice in wages and goods? Do I promote education and healthcare especially for those unable to attain it? As I proclaim peace, do I watch the latest in graphic PG-13 violence? Do I invest in the almighty bullet? Does Hollywood become Holywood? Does my bank account swell at the expense of others or in support of human degradation, community and international destruction, and waste?

Fortunately, I can follow the preceding sinner back into the pew. And guess what follows …? Supper at the table of our Lord AND, … I’m invited! “Lord, I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof …”

Jesus was not killed because he proclaimed himself “God.” Many hoping Jesus came with power and might to wipe away their oppressors with violence abandoned him while many others simply lost hope. Jesus was killed for the same reasons people have been killed in all of human history. He proclaimed a new order, a new culture, the Kingdom of God. Though they are intrinsically related, Jesus was rejected for his world view and not his God view.

Our challenge not only during Lent is to grow in the world and in the Kingdom of God and to emerge living in the One. It took Jesus thirty years to understand the relationship between his Father and the world he was born into. His launching point … a trip out of the desert where he wandered and wondered in prayer and temptation. Feeling gritty sand beneath his feet, Jesus centered not on any culture or theory, but on a lovable, dependable Person, the Father. Jesus imitated, enjoyed, and loved God personally. He demonstrated this love in relationship with others. He “lived” it and asked his followers to do the same. When we look with compassion and love into the eyes of others, we look into the eyes of the living God, the Being living in each and every human. Does our relationship need something?

The Jewish people were a people exposed by their prophets. Nobody necessarily enjoys the process, but the Jews, in their historical tradition, had a unique capacity to appreciate self-criticism … and to correct their path. The Catholic Church, a human institution, has also demonstrated this self-criticism and must continue to do so if it is to be a light of God for the world rather than a god. The living gospel threatens death. It identifies with no culture or institution. As written in John’s gospel, the Spirit blows where it will to those who welcome and live in It.

The cross we carry whether we like it or not is to work for answers to many more questions than I mentioned earlier without adding to the problem … to stand against hate … to be engaged … to get our hands dirty … to live and to love richly.

Stand before the crucified Jesus and recognize He became what we are all afraid of … intimidated by … what we all deny: broken, naked, exposed, beaten, outcast, failed, vulnerable, alone, abandoned.

I rub my forehead in thought. Ash streaks my palms. I look up joining those of my community and whisper, “Bless me Father for I have sinned …”

May you launch a blessing during Lent into permanence in your life and that of your family and friends!
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For a short but interesting video, check out the link below for what the world would look like if it was summed up in the lives of 100 people?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4639vev1Rw&feature=player_embedded