Piankitank Priest

Fifth Sunday of Lent

March 25, 2012

John 12:20-33

All of us can remember at least one time in our life when we fell head over heels, madly in love with someone.

All other concerns and obligations in our life suddenly became secondary and we were absorbed and consumed with our newfound object of affection.

Few experiences in life have the power to place such a claim on our attention and our hearts as does love.

When it is discovered it can be all consuming.

It may be difficult for us to fathom it, but God’s pursuit of us is very similar.

Our images and descriptions of God can often be very serious looking or even stern.

While serious is necessary, have we ever thought of God actually being delighted, consumed, and totally absorbed with gaining our affection?

God is relentless.

God does not give up.

And, God is incredibly patient.

Love must be offered freely for it to be real.

There can be no coercions, catches, conditions, or hidden agendas.

God will not manipulate us into loving him as he fashioned us with that wonderful gift of free will that allows us the freedom to discover him on our own, at our own pace.

God’s law is written in our hearts; all we need to do is realize it.

In our human relationships, we will put great effort into discovering and embracing human loves.

The search for God involves a journey of great depth and, even more importantly, an intense desire to find him.

Our technological world places less value on journeys.

We are bombarded with quick answers and rapid searches.

All we need to do is recall the last time we had to wait two full minutes for the Internet to bring us where we wanted to go!

You know the frustration of which I speak!

If we are expecting the “quick connect” deal with God we have to think again.

It just will not happen this way.

The journey is more involved and requires time and patience on our part.

We cannot simply plug our iPod into the God PC and expect results.

We may use an online dating service to find the love of our life, but the service will not provide the relationship; that’s our job.

Our journey through Lent has been about some serious business.

For many, the time has been used wisely, taking an honest assessment of how well we are living up to the ideals of the Gospel.

In terms of our relationship with God, however, the extra time for thought and reflection that we are able to put into our lives can provide the means for discovering not only God’s delight in us and his relentless pursuit of our heart but also our thirst and desire to meet and connect with him as well.

If what we want or need to discover does not come quickly enough, we all too easily abandon the search.

We cannot do this with God.

God and God’s ways came before technology.

We have to discover our original design.

Growing, becoming, changing, and developing do not occur simply as the result of additional knowledge or experience.

Authentic growth and change comes as the result of a lot of hard work; bumping up against our weaknesses and acknowledging our failures.

Unfortunately, many of us delude ourselves into thinking that we can achieve success without sacrifice.

Even with all of our comforts, gadgets, and fast connections working at their very best, we will eventually be forced to realize that this is simply not possible.

True success comes at a price.

True love requires an investment.

We must fall and die.

Human beings will never discover their true identity or potential unless they are willing to embark upon the search for their Creator and accept difficulty and suffering.

We are always looking for the cushion to soften our fall.

We are more concerned about the door that closed rather than the one that is opening.

Our Lenten journey has taught us to die to sin and rise to life.

As Jesus faced his last hours on earth his heart broke.

He felt abandoned, alone, betrayed, afraid, conflicted; left by himself with that deep ache that dread has the power to bring to one’s soul.

He not only felt betrayed by humans but unsure of what his Father wanted him to do.

Jesus was troubled.

Even in the face of all of this doubt and confusion, Jesus remained obedient.

He remained obedient to the relationship he had with his Abba, his Daddy.

He found the courage to face the suffering and was able to rekindle his understanding that no matter how horrible things may become, Abba would bring redemption!

Do we believe that our Creator, the One who delights in every fabric of our being, who continues to pursue us despite our deafness and ignorance, will also do this for us?

This is why we continually need more Lents and Holy Weeks.

We are slow learners.

We think that we can control everything, even our path through suffering.

When life looks like it is starting to get difficult or challenging, we search for the quickest path around it.

Worse yet, we deny that it is even happening or look for the first person to blame as its cause.

Others look for someone or something to take the pain away or use it as another reason to justify why a loving God cannot possibly exist.

Suffering, anxiety, and discomfort can all too easily become reasons to separate us from God.

Once we have learned the lesson of obedience, we can overcome anything!

We can triumph over a failing economy that makes it more and more difficult to find employment,

a broken government that can’t seem to get out of its own way,

an unexpected divorce, the death of someone we love, our sinfulness,

the disappointment of a broken relationship, our resolution of past hurts, fears, and memories, and even our own eventual death.

The way through all of these life situations cannot be sought through a computer. The only real way is through a journey deep within and into the presence of the One who will never leave us behind and is always there to save.

Holy Week will, once again, illumine this path and help us with the search.