Written by professors, graduates, and others in
the Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary community, these reflections, prayers, and spiritual practices will take you along the journey with Jesus through the cross toward resurrection.
Sunday, March 8, 2015
• Psalm 133
• Matthew 9:9–15
Gandhi once said, “My most formidable opponent is a man named Mohandas K. Gandhi. With him I seem to have very little influence.” This hauntingly humorous quote is telling of the internal struggle we face during the Lenten season. As we continue along our journey of repentance and preparation, we come to Jesus’ declaration to love our enemies and we hear the Psalmist cry for unity. Through these passages, we are invited to overcome that which divides and live in complete, full relationship with God. It seems impossible, but we are told we shall be perfect (Matt. 5:48) if we extend love and prayer to the one who wishes us harm and pain.
What a special gift Christ is sharing with us. The opportunity to envision a new love, a bold and courageous kind of love that breaks down barriers and sets us toward a picture of serenity and hope founded and built by God. This is what makes Lent so unique. At this point in the Christian cycle we are being asked to focus on the sins we commit and name them together, because together we are strengthened, we are bonded, and when we can see the other suffering as we are, then our vulnerability becomes our source of unity.
Yet the great chasm that separates us so often from this unity, from this perfection, is the other we see when we look into the mirror. The irony Gandhi levels is like an anvil upon our shoulders. Sure we can name our shortcomings and acknowledge our foibles, but until we can truly relinquish the guilt we feel and accept forgiveness for that which is wrong or shameful, then we only allow it to erode the relationship God desires with us and for us. Consequently, the search to overcome that which leaves us broken as people, broken as a society, broken as a world cannot begin with us mending our own brokenness. It must begin and end with the healing and restorative presence of God.
What this reveals to us is that achieving perfection and unity through God means not relying on mere human strength and wisdom. Rather it means humbly proclaiming our brokenness by giving to God the sins we offer and the shortcomings we share. It means acknowledging that the Lenten journey is not a test to see where we can go, but rather an invitation to see where God can lead us. And from this part of the world, perfection sounds like an amazing destination.
God of perfection, source of all strength and wisdom, we are a weary and broken people. Lead us to a place of perfection, a place where brokenness is present, doubt is welcome, and fears are shared, so we can overcome that which separates us from the love you provide through Christ Jesus. Amen.
– he Reverend Barrett Abernethy (MDiv’13)
Pastor, First Presbyterian Church, Livingston, Alabama & Member of the Austin Seminary Association Board
For the glory of God and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary is a seminary in the Presbyterian-Reformed tradition whose mission is to educate and equip individuals for the ordained Christian ministry and other forms of Christian service and leadership; to employ its resources in the service of the church; to promote and engage in critical theological thought and research; and to be a winsome and exemplary community of God's people.
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