Bring Your Full Self

March 18

Readings – EX 32:7-14; JN 5:31-47

In our first reading, we meet a bold Moses!

God is getting ready to strike down the people because they have been unruly and disrespectful as they started worshipping the golden calf.  Moses says, “Hey, hey, Big Guy, take it easy…Remember what you promised us…”  So God thinks it over and changes God’s mind.  Apparently it would have been in bad taste to destroy one’s own people in the middle of the desert after rescuing them from Egypt.

Then in the gospel, we meet a bold Jesus.

While the gospel of John has a lot of mystical and grand language, what is apparent is that Jesus is taking a strong stand with the religious leaders.  He’s telling them that they read the scriptures but don’t understand them and talk about Moses but have no idea what they’re talking about.

I can’t speak for God (but, of course, I’ll try!) but I don’t think God wants spiritually mousy people or those who do not bring their full selves to the equation.  I love Marianne Williamson’s quote, “Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.”

Moses and Jesus don’t play small because they know that this won’t, ultimately, serve God’s kin-dom.  This does not mean that we act like we know it all or are the cat’s meow.  It just means that we do not shrink from opportunities where we know that we must speak, confront, engage and tell our truth – even if our voice shakes.

We can also bring our full selves into our prayer lives.  I don’t think it bothers God when we push back, challenge, get angry, cry, yell or invite God to get a little more active in our lives or in the world.  God wants our full selves, and as in any relationship, if we want a lot out of the relationship, we need to put a lot in.

But be warned, the more of your full self you bring, the more God’s going to bring.  This will likely be both challenge and opportunity! And if Moses is our model, we will be asked to do some things that stretch us to our limits.  But what do we really want out of our relationship with God, anyway?

For today, try to bring your full self – to God, to your relationships and to the world.