Lent 5
29th March 2009
Preacher: The Rev'd Dr Ann Solari, Hon Deacon of St John's Cathedral

Readings: Jer.31-34, Ps 119.9-16, Heb 5-14, Jn 12.20-33


Isn’t it amazing how easy it is to get thrown off balance; how easy it is to get worried about little and big things; how changes worry and unsettle us?

A couple of weeks ago it was my elder daughter writing her car off and having to sort the financial and insurance issues out. This week it has been adjusting to my new car and the trauma of such things as having the indicators on the wrong side and choosing which fuel to put in it. Today it is my new glasses throwing me off balance.

But when I imagine what it must have been like for the disciples in the days before Jesus was crucified the things that have been occupying my attention recently seem very insignificant. Here they were in Jerusalem , following the man who they believed was the Messiah, the teacher who was going to save Israel , liberate the Jews and free the poor. And they were seriously worried that he was going to be put to death. They knew the poor and the sick were welcoming him and supporting him but they were only too aware of the power that the community leaders held. They knew his and their lives were at risk – and instead of reassuring them Jesus was talking about death as if it were something positive, as if it was something that would change their lives in a fruitful way. He was talking about the whole world being turned upside down. They had chosen to follow someone who had offered them eternal life and now they were facing death.

When we meditate on the Easter journey, on our path through Lent, we know that Jesus was crucified but that he rose again. We know that the disciples followed him nearly to the end before running away. But we know that they then returned to Jesus and were welcomed back with open arms. We know their story.

We know that God loves us so much that God became human and was willing to die for us at our hands. We know that Jesus lived as one of us and understands what we go through. We know that God is here with us and in us, that God loves us as individuals and as communities, whoever we are, whatever we do and wherever we are.

So where are our Lenten journeys taking us this year?

Like the disciples we have been offered the chance to follow Jesus. We have been offered the possibility of allowing our lives to be changed so that the Kingdom of God can come closer. We too are able to become active disciples of Christ.

But how many of us like change?

How many of us like handing our lives over to a future that is uncertain?

How many of us are willing to take the risks involved in being a disciple of Christ?

As human beings we like to be in control of our lives, we tend to plan for the future so that we know what we are aiming for, where we are going, what our goals are. We think financial security is good, we appreciate comfort and material goods, we like to be safe. We expect our children to make plans, to know what they want to be and to do.

If Jesus says to us ‘follow me’ how many of us would stand up and follow him as those first disciples did? How many of us would weigh up the pros and cons and actually go? And how many of us would not even give ourselves the chance to get up and follow, not even let ourselves consider it?

Lent is a time in the year when we can give ourselves time and space to look at the opportunities we have been given and the choices we have made. It is a time when we can reflect on the Easter story, what it meant for the people involved and therefore what it means for us. What we must remember is that the disciples were ordinary people just like us. They came from ordinary families and led ordinary lives. The choices they had to make are choices we may be given. What made them extraordinary people were the decisions they made and the journey they took with Jesus while he was alive and they journeys they pursued after the resurrection.

We all have the chance to be extraordinary too but to do that we have to allow ourselves to look honestly at the choices we are being given. It is easy for all of us to ignore choices because they appear to be too hard. To deny they exist because they are too risky. To not see them because we don’t allow God to show us the person we could become. The problem is that the choices aren’t always easy but sometimes they are so easy we just don’t see them. Or they seem to be outside our comfort zone, too risky or just impossible. Sometimes we don’t take them seriously because the changes they would mean to our lives seem to be too outrageous, or to involve financial risk, loss of power or even image. And sometimes we are so sure that we are right, that we are already extraordinary or special that we just don’t look for any other options.

Often the hardest thing is being honest with ourselves and being open to the possibilities God gives us. We need to remember that we aren’t in this alone. God is with us and we are here for each other. As a community and as individuals we are loved and cared for but unless we let ourselves turn to Christ and look at the choices we are being given we cannot grow into mature Christians. If we want the Kingdom of God to come into being we need risk change and become active and honest disciples of Christ.

Can we let our Lenten journey lead us into that space?

Amen.

©Ann Solari