The Reverend Barbara K. Briggs
March 29, 2009
The Fifth Sunday in Lent, Year B

John 12:20-33

Lord, it is Lent and we seek you.  Help us to know you not only with our mind, but in our hearts.  Amen.

I live with a kindergartener.  He’s five, but he’s already grasped the American ideal:  rugged individualism.  On occasion, when asked to do something, he retorts, “Don’t tell me what to do.”  That’s my son.  My guess, he’s not much different than the rest of us.

William Donohue, president of the Catholic League, said in a recent CNN interview that the three most dreaded words are “Thou shalt not.”  No one wants to be told what to do with their life.

Trinity College did a survey called the American Religious Identification Survey.  It came out a few weeks ago and indicated that only 75% of Americans call themselves Christian.  That’s down from 86% in 1990.  At the same time, there has been a significant increase in the number of people expressing no religious affiliation.

What does it mean to be a Christian in this context?  It is more optional than ever.  There is not much cultural expectation that we will believe in much of anything but ourselves.  Our culture seems to tell us that self-centeredness is as viable an option as any.  But it is only an option.  There are other options.  There is the option of letting ourselves be drawn into God’s life within us.  It is an option and if we want to go there, it needs to be choice.  We have to choose to respond to God’s offer of life.

On June 30, 1859, at 5 p.m., the first person ever to cross Niagara Falls on a tight rope was the Great Blondin.  He not only crossed the Falls, but did tricks on the way across.  It is said that Blondin asked a reporter if he believed he could do anything he wanted on that rope suspended above the Falls, and the reporter said that he believed the Great Blondin could do anything on that rope. “Well, then,” said Blondin, “Get in this wheel-barrow and I will push you across to the other side,” at which point, the reporter melted into the crowd and disappeared from view.

During Blondin’s fifth exhibition at Niagara Falls, he persuaded his manager, Harry Colcord, to climb on his back and go with him on the long trip across the gorge.  Both men reached the other side.  Now, which one of these men trusted Blondin – the one who said he believed Blondin could do anything, or the one who climbed on his back and let himself be carried across the raging waters?

Being a Christian today is like that.  We can’t just say we believe:  we have to climb on and let ourselves be carried by another.  We have to risk death.  Our Lenten journey is a time to look at death like Easter is a time to celebrate life.  During Lent we try to be honest about what brings us closer to God and what does not.  Daily we try to be attentive to the presence of God in us so we can let go of the other stuff.  We have to leave the self-centered self behind.  We have to abandon the image of ourselves we try so hard to live up to and embrace the self that makes Christ his or her own center.  This is what Jesus is talking about when he says that “unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it will remain just a single grain, but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”  It is what he is getting at when he says, “Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”  We can’t get across Niagara Falls on a tight rope unless we let ourselves be carried.  Otherwise, we remain simply spectators.  We can’t be with Christ unless we go with him.  And we can’t follow Christ until we stop following ourselves.  Jesus said, “Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also.”

This needs some unpacking.  Which life are we to hate and which life are we to find for eternal life?  Christ chooses to abide in us so he can love us into life, wholeness and joy.  As a result, we can let go of the tyranny of the false self and discover our true self as pure gift.  We do not make him or her.  It is the self that emerges when we let go of ourselves.  It is the self that is with Christ wherever he is.

The false self, the person we think we have control over, is the one that needs to be abandoned, or as John puts it – hated. If we love the false self, protect it, defend it and cling tightly to it, we will never discover the true self.  We will have let life pass us by.  We will have lost it.  The false self is the one that must die in order for the true self to come into being.  It is scary because it involves taking the risk of trusting another with our very life.  This is our Lenten journey, and it’s not too late to begin.

Next Sunday is Palm Sunday.  Next week we enter Holy Week.  There are opportunities for prayer and worship every day, especially on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil on Saturday followed by Sunday morning.  These days make up the Triduum, which means “three days.”  These three days are the most dramatic and intense period in the Christian calendar.  It is what the Episcopal Church does best.  It is the best way to prepare for Easter.  In these three days we get to be with Christ where he is.  We get to employ our bodies, minds, souls and imaginations in accompanying Jesus to the Cross and resurrection.  Rearrange your schedule if you can and come.  You won’t be disappointed.  It will be worth whatever sacrifice you have to make in order to be here.  Say “yes” to God’s invitation.  Do what you can during Holy Week to let it be truly holy– a time unlike any other week of the year.  A time to come close to God.  A time to stop being a spectator and to let ourselves be carried by the prayer of the Church – to let ourselves be carried away – carried away in God’s outrageous offer of life and love. Amen+

Copyright © 2009 by the Reverend Barbara K. Briggs