Breaking the Same Old Dull Routine
20 That is not the way you learned Christ! 21 For surely you have heard about him and were taught in him, as truth is in Jesus, 22 to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:20-24 (NRSVUE)
This Lenten season, if you’ve been actively attending worship, you know that the sermons have followed the pattern of a routine for a person, most likely a small child as it included story time trying to get ready for bed. But most of the rest of the sermons are universal across age groups because clean up time and sleep time are things that we all do. But the real world implications of what has been suggested in this sermon match with Christ’s teachings and leave us, as modern Christians, with some pretty heavy topics to sort out in our lives.
For instance, the topic of social holiness. Wesley spent a lot of time talking about social holiness. This idea that although each of us did need to strive towards Christian perfection, attempt to attain entire sanctification, or otherwise be perfect in the eyes of God did not mean much if we did not also try to transform the world around us into a place that was more like God’s kingdom. And unfortunately people do not agree on what the kingdom looks like. But I think that Christ gives us enough about the kingdom that we can do our part to participate in the work God is already doing, to live into the kingdom, and to generally live as God intended.
Something that people seem to forget at Easter is that Christ was turning the world upside down. He came as a humble human, not like the rich, warrior king that the Jews anticipated. He did not eat with the wealthy or land-owning, but the poor and outcast. He preached care for the widows and orphans, not self-preservation or enrichment. Christ was all about lifting up the downtrodden, not further oppressing people or forcing them into a box.
For me, when I think about breaking my routine so that I may love God with all I’ve got and love my neighbor as myself, one of the biggest things is to let go of my expectations for others. People will not be who you want them to be if they are being their authentic selves. At least two sides to this coin, the first being that if you want someone to be good, righteous, wholesome, wonderful all the time that is not accurate because we all sin and fall short. Nobody is perfect, so allowing someone the grace to fail, to sin, to do things we find morally reprehensible is to love them. Putting someone on a pedestal can be just as much of a cage as shoving them in a box. The second is that if you always expect someone to fail, nothing they ever do will be good enough for you. Loving someone, be it a stranger or neighbor, family or friend, truly requires letting them be themselves. No expectations from us. What God expects from them is a different matter.
So, this Easter, as I attempt to break my routine with God’s help, I find that learning to love other people allows me to more fully participate in the resurrection of Christ. That there is forgiveness for all, a conquering of sin, but also a joy in knowing that if I can learn to love as Christ does, the world will be more like the kingdom of God where peace, justice, mercy, hope, redemption, and love reign. Happy Spy Wednesday… hope to see you for Holy Week!
