Saturday, March 30
Readings: HOS 6:1-6; LK 18:9-14
Hosea continues the lamentation today for how the people have gone astray and yet trusts in God’s ability to restore us. It reminds me a bit of Step 2 from Alcoholics Anonymous where it is said that, “We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.”
During Lent, it is important to believe that we can be restored to sanity from all of our personal and collective insanity. We need to find ways to keep believing in human goodness and imagination in order to bring us through the challenges that we face. This is just as important work as naming our shadows and failings.
Hosea also reminds us that God desires love, not sacrifice from us – meaning that God would rather have our hearts than the rituals we do to honor God. This is part of our ongoing journey and likely requires a big unlearning for so many of us because of what we were taught by our families, by our society and by our churches and religious leaders.
What were you taught that God “wanted” from you? How has that changed over time?
Jesus continues some of this unlearning in the gospel when he points out the experiences of two people. The Pharisee – a religious leader with standing in the Jewish community – positions himself in front of folks, praying out loud about how faithful he is. The tax collector – despised in the Jewish community because he takes Jewish money and gives it to the occupying Romans – stays out back and is aware of his failures. Jesus says, “everyone who exalts [themselves] will be humbled, and the one who humbles [themselves] will be exalted.”
Have you ever been humbled? I know that I have, and it’s rarely a good time! And yet it has often been what I call a necessary rightsizing for something that had grown out of proportion in my life.
I have always loved the word “humble.” Its root comes from “humus” which is the top layer of soil on the ground. To be humble is to remain close to the ground, and, I would contend, to know your place in the grand scheme of things. A humble person knows their worth and also realizes that everything else has worth as well. A humble person knows that they have flaws and knows that everyone else does too. A humble person is more focused on joy than judgement and I find that there is a calming, easy quality about humble people.
Maybe for today, we can work to believe that no matter what we are up against in our lives, restoration is possible. And if we move through life with a humble spirit, what we need will be given to us to live wholehearted lives.