Thinking About the Lenten Season
As you know, Lent is the forty (40) days before Easter when we Christians ponder the price that Jesus of Nazareth paid for our salvation on the cross. Following these last forty (40) days, in Scripture, is quite interesting and puzzling. For example, Dr. William Willimon said, “The gospel of Mark records the demons obeying Jesus while His disciples did not.” One instance of this is in Mark 8:31-38 where Jesus tells the disciples, plainly, that He must go to Jerusalem and die at the hands of the Jewish religious leaders. The gospel of Mark tells us this immediately after the disciples have acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah. So, it is quite surprising and puzzling that the disciples rebuke Jesus for telling them the truth about what is going to happen in the near future concerning His life. And yet, here is this amazing paradox staring us in the face.
What do we do with this? The first hint of understanding comes from a couple of insights:
We are all happy to be called Christians as long as the Lord does what we want. The moment that He does not agree with our ideas and desires, we become exceedingly unhappy, even to the point of rebuking the Lord.
Crises always reveal our character as well as our true motives.
Like the disciples, we too probably have a secret agenda for following Jesus. When things don’t go our way, we let the Lord know about it. Of course, this story is a valuable teaching moment for all of us. As we evaluate our faith during the season of Lent, do we see a hint of selfishness in ourselves? Most of us could be with the disciples urging Peter to rebuke Jesus for not doing what they(we) wanted. In principle, we acknowledge that selfishness not only drives a wedge between us and God but is the root of destruction in the human race. We readily see, at a distance. But do we see it up close in our own hearts?
For me, Lent is a season of self-examination. I pray that it is for you as well. I am learning that the Holy Spirit can do a holy work in me only when I am honest with Him. May we be honest with Him about our motives.
Walking With the Lord and Listening,
Ron McCaskill