Wednesday, March 4

 


Daily Lectionary
Jer 18:18-20; Ps 31:1-5, 13-16; Mt 20:17-28

Frodo: I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.

Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world, Frodo, besides that of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring, in which case you were also meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought.
 
This well-known dialogue between J.R.R. Tolkien’s Frodo and Gandalf while lost in the Mines of Moria and overwhelmed by the task ahead, always reminds me a bit of Jesus and his disciples in the weeks leading up to Easter. And on a more personal note, perhaps like myself during Lent.

This past year has been hard. I’ve felt more stressed, more exhausted and more grief than I ever have. But reading the verses for today, I know I am in good company. It is easy to see the struggles of our own lives, or even the world around us as unmatched in severity or unprecedented in their scope, yet looking at these verses I am reminded of the constancy of trials in this life. Joseph is betrayed by his brothers, then years later he weeps in memory. Joseph’s brothers in turn tremble when they see their sacks with their money in them and “lose heart.” David hears whispers of “terror all around” as enemies plot to kill him. Jesus tells his disciples — for the third time — not only that he is going to be crucified, but first he will be betrayed, then “mocked and flogged” before finally being crucified.

Betrayal. Weeping. Trembling. Terror. Mocking. Flogging. Crucifixion.

I am with Bilbo – “I wish none of this had happened.” As humans we are hardwired to look for a way out of our suffering. But what if part of the mystery and joy of Easter is dwelling in the difficult journey of Lent? Maybe in Lent we aren’t meant to be relieved of these pains or emotions. Maybe Lent is a reminder of the brutality of sin. Maybe Lent is a moment to embrace these pains and through that pain we may glimpse the brilliance of Easter and the goodness of God.

But, while feeling the anguish of this world let’s always remember there is more at work in this world than evil, because “that is an encouraging thought.”

Shelby Martens

 

 Goodness of God   Bethel Music


 

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