By Deb Snider-Scott OEF
Good and Blessed day to all! Here we are entering into the fourth week of Lent. We have most likely settled into a Lenten mindset and heartset. I pray the following will complement any readings or reflections that have come before this one. I’m not a bible scholar or a person of high intelligence, but I have a deep love of The One who brought us here. I have a deep love for the Order of Ecumenical Franciscans. So, with that, let us begin.
Mark 12: 29-34 (The Message Devotional Bible)
When asked which is the most important of all commandments He replied, “The first in importance is, The Lord your God is One; so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy. And here is the second: Love others as well as you love yourself. There is no other commandment that ranks with these.” The religious scholar said, “A wonderful answer, Teacher! So clear-cut and accurate–that God is One and there is no other. And loving The One with all passion and intelligence and energy, and loving others as well as you love yourself. Why, that’s better than all the offerings and sacrifices put together!” When Jesus realized how insightful he was, He said, “You’re almost there, right on the border of God’s kingdom.” After that, no one else dared to ask a question.
“It’s so clear-cut and accurate!” I envision the religious scholar putting his hands to his head and projecting them upward and outward in a gesture we use today to indicate “mind-blowing”! It was like the light bulb came on. In turn, I envision Jesus thinking, “Finally, someone gets it!” Then there were those encouraging words….”You’re almost there, right on the border!” What a moment in time!
I used to walk 5k’s,10k’s and even a few mini-marathons. I’ve heard those words over and over again from the sidelines of an event, especially as we were beyond the halfway point. “Keep it up! You’re almost there! You can do it! You’re so close!” There were drink stations along the way. There were checkpoints with folks invested in helping the runner/walker to get to that line (that border). There was a specific run in our Brown County State Park that had to be the most grueling event I’ve ever participated in. It was off road, up and down hills and across a ravine. There were a few tree markings to guide, but no people along the path that time. No water stations. Nothing. You were on your own! Another person and I got lost, fell in mud and got soaked with rain. It was a long and treacherous experience, and a time that we questioned if we would find our way. But we did. We made it to the finish line, dead last!
We are currently on a long, treacherous and tumultuous road my dear siblings. It’s grueling and painful for so many. Our eyes are opened wide in disbelief. Our hearts beat anxiously. What on earth are we to do? How will we make it? Going back to the scripture. We are called to love The One who created us with ‘passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.’ That gets us close to the border.Loving others gets us the rest of the way.
During the Lenten Season we reflect on all that Jesus endured. Talk about a treacherous and tumultuous event! That road to Calvary was long, hard and grueling. Even Jesus needed support along the way. Carrying that heavy cross could not have been done without the help of Simon of Cyrene. He had his mother. He had a person who wanted to give him a drink. He had the woman who lent him a cloth to wipe his bloody, sweaty brow. He had a few of his closest loved ones at the foot of the cross, up to the very moment he cried out, ‘It is finished. Into your hands I commend my spirit.”
If we place ourselves there, who are we? Have we felt as if we were beaten, scourged, publically humiliated and denied by those we thought were our friends? Who will give us comfort? Do we see others who experience beatings, scourging and public humiliation? Who will comfort them? Are we supplying water to the thirsty? Clothing to the unclothed? Food to the unfed? Shelter to the unhoused and misplaced? Do we have the strength to jump in and help carry a cross too heavy to bear alone?
As we draw closer to Holy Week, let us reflect on The One who now is the Spirit that dwells within us. Who now wipes the weary brow of others. Who now offers drinks to those who are parched. Who now gives us courage to stand against injustice of every kind. Who now, through us, can love all of humankind. By His endless grace we are never alone and lost. And by His endless grace we can make it so that others never feel alone and lost. We can make it happen! “We’re almost there. Right on the border of God’s kingdom!”