A Meditation for Friday after Ash Wednesday
By The Rev. Peggy Lee, ‘09 and ‘13
This passage in John is for us. Jesus doesn’t need it, but we do. Jesus is praying for us and telling us certain things about ourselves. We belong to God. We glorify Jesus by doing our jobs. We can have the joy of Jesus, but Jesus doesn’t say it will be easy. After all, the world doesn’t like us. We don’t belong. We are here for a while to do our jobs, but as Peter tells us, we are citizens of heaven, and this is our job site, not our home. We are different and need to remember that. We can rejoice in this difference and need to be ready to tell people about the source of our joy. The problem is that the world likes conformity and doesn’t like people who have different viewpoints. As Jesus says, it is not easy. It is not easy to maintain our equilibrium in the face of indifference and intolerance. It is not easy to swim upstream. And it is not easy to do things for the right reasons.
One of the things we need while we are here is protection. Because Jesus isn’t here in the same way to protect us, God will protect us in a different way. We can’t forget that part of the Holy Spirit’s job is our protection. Jesus is asking God to protect us from the evil that is very real in the world. Jesus is asking for protection from the world itself: the temptations, the mental and physical hurt, and the persuasion to conform. Also, we need protection from ourselves. We tend to think that we can live on our own and don’t need help. We forget that we really don’t have control. We forget that temptation is all about us and our inclination is to take the easy way. And we think we will be ok without God at least for the little things. We only want to ask for help in the big things. We value our independence. We need to remember that our independence is based on our dependance on God. We are given the gifts we need to do our tasks, but we need to remember the source of those gifts and their purpose. We need to use them to glorify God, not ourselves. So, Jesus is praying that all this baggage about ourselves will be highlighted so that God can protect us from ourselves.
It all comes down to the process of maintaining our right relationship with God. Isn’t this one of the objects of Lent, to restore our relationship? To examine our lives and live with God? Jesus prays for us and gives us the confidence to continue. Jeus prays for us to have all the tools we need. Ezekiel tells us that if we turn away from righteousness and continue in our own way, we will die. The person who hears and changes will live.
None of this is easy. It is all hard work, and counter-cultural. But it is important and the only way. Jesus is our joy and our example. The Holy Spirit is here to help us. God is on our side. We have a good story to tell people when they ask or even if they don’t ask. How good is this? We only have to respond. We need to listen, to hear, and to implement what we have been taught. We are not lost. We have hope. We have choices. We can turn to God. Or not. As Ezekiel says, "For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies," declares the Lord God. "Therefore, repent and live." (Ezek. 18:32 NAS)
The Rev. Peggy Lee is a retired Episcopal priest who lives in Moline, Illinois. Peggy was a vocational deacon for 15 years before attending Nashotah House. She graduated with an MDIV in 2009 and a DMIN in 2013. She is a priest in the Diocese of Chicago where she currently serves as dean for the Peoria Deanery. She has been a spiritual director at Nashotah House since 2014. Peggy has two children and five grandchildren, all living in Moline. She is an analytical chemist and retired from John Deere after 30 years. The readings for the preceding devotional may be located here from Forward Movement.
