last week i went up to vancouver and visited the bookstore at regent college, where a new industry has emerged around dietrich bonhoeffer. and now most of my friends are talking about lenten reading and stuff, lent being to christianity as christmas is to the mall in terms of commercialization.
my own preparations for lent are being formed mainly within the context of that odd passage in the gospel according to john, chapter 12, vv. 20 ff.: "among those who went up to worship at the festival [i.e., the passover] were some greeks. these approached philip, who came from bethsaida in galilee, and put this request to him, 'sir, we should like to see jesus.'[i love that it is philip they come to, since it will be peter who asks jesus to see the father] jesus' "reply" hardly seems like a reply at all: "now the hours has come for the son of man to be glofiried. in all truth i tell, you, unless a wheat grain falls into the earth and dies, it remains only a single grain; but if it dies it yields a rich harvest. anyone who loves his life loses it; anyone who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. whoever serves me, must follow me, and my servant will be with me wherever i am."
how little i am willing to follow, because of course i know where jesus is going. jerusalem my happy home is happy, and my home, because of calvary and good friday. so i play at being christian, letting myself be distracted by the big issues of today's church, such as whether gay men should be allowed to wear pointy hats and capes. meanwhile, my greed is torturing and maiming and killing people all around the world, and destroying their homes, even while i type this.
can this be the fast the lord requires of me? is this the witness i'm called to be?
9 hours ago
