Prayerful Questions
Here is my servant…my chosen one with whom I am pleased… - Is 42:1
My prayers today are full of questions.
Am I a servant of God or is my ego is in the way of truly living for the greater honor and glory of God?
Did I honor this season of Lent as fully as I could? My intention was to slow down and spend more time in prayer, reading scripture or spiritual books. As with New Year’s intentions, Lenten intentions begin with a gusto and as the weeks move on that gusto can diminish as the realities of life set in.
They gave a dinner for him… - Jn 12:2
As I reflected on today’s Gospel, the humanity of Jesus was comforting. He came to Bethany…and they gave a dinner for him there. This is something we all do. We host dinners for our families and friends. As I write today, I am sitting at my dining room table and imagine Jesus and his friends gathered here with me. I imagine the food, the drink, the camaraderie, and the conversation taking place during a familiar gathering of friends, none of them fully aware of what was ahead for Jesus and for them.
My biggest question as we begin Holy Week is, why do we focus so much on the brutal death of Jesus? I want to move to the resurrection – the part that doesn’t hurt my psyche. It is a naïve question but to be honest, I would prefer to celebrate the life of Jesus who came from God to show us a better way of living, a way of being with each other in love. Isn’t that a more important thing to focus on?
Has the world changed since the time of Jesus? We fly planes across the world, we visit the moon, and we meet and chat every day over this phenomenon of the Internet. So yes, the world has changed. Yet we fight as the Pharisees did with Jesus over who is “in” and who is “out” of our religious worlds. We condone violence by ignoring it or pretending it happens for reasons that hardly make sense.
Have we truly, or have I truly taken in the message Jesus offered over and over? Do I love enough? Have I fully embraced the notion of mercy, or do I live in a state of judgment on others? Holy Week brings up a myriad of questions. My prayer this week is to let the questions sit, let them go, and participate in the week in a way that is meaningful and brings Jesus into my life.
What is it that will be meaningful for you this Holy Week?
Anne Hansen