The Gospel for this time in Lent draws from Jesus nearing the end of his life. He has lived a compassionate and generous life though he has been met with vehement opposition by rulers. He understands the deadly intent of the rulers and yet he is still feeling forgiving and generous, “I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.”
The rulers who have opposed Jesus intend to kill him. They fear him and his challenge to their control. Fear and other disempowering emotions of the ruling class tend toward domination, for example, revenge, retaliation, retribution. Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign promises, “I am your retribution” to the non-Christians supporting him. They are non-Christian because none of ruler Trump’s disempowering emotions were promoted by Jesus Christ. Jesus shared his life with thousands of people with whom he shared happiness, joy, care, love, meaning. He knew disempowering rulers who spawned disempowering emotions like fear, anger, hostility, rage, and retribution kept the common people poor and miserable. He never imitated ruler disempowerment, he rejected it. As he lived with healthy emotions, so he will die with healthy emotions, knowing his life soon will be taken by those rulers. He is certainly not going to incite disciples toward exercising those same disempowering emotions of those same disempowering rulers. Instead Jesus keeps empowering disciples for love, hope, delight, joy, creativity, peacefulness, forgiveness generosity. The emotional unhealthiness of the ruling class has historically promoted a ‘fight vs. flight’ emotional reaction to conflict. Healthy people, like Jesus, who display a wider repertoire of emotion, witness a ‘tend and mend’ response to conflict. They disciple us not so much in managing our emotions as in befriending our emotions, especially negative emotions. Negative emotions do not empower but rather disempower. When we befriend negative emotions we are empowering ourselves, exercising a wholeness of spirit, mind, body. That wholeness of power, especially in moments of conflict, lives in place of the negative emotion attempting to take control of us. Our integrity converts our own negative emotions as it can convert the negative emotions of others. “I am your retribution,” is not an ethic of healthiness nor of discipleship. Healthy disciples are not taken over by coerced feelings of humiliation to hold grudges and vow revenge. They are not influenced toward feelings of foolishness, shame, or powerlessness to justify striking back in retaliation. The emotional exercise of disciples is to give and receive love. We create from our courageous core not tribes but communities to strengthen and radiate love. Doing so enables us to deal with people who are afraid to love. People who might even want to kill us. We do so because our love changes the world.
“I want to build my future out of new emotions to seek more than my own in a spring surround to move amongst people keen to move outwards putting love and ideas into fresh ground who will come with me across this border not anywhere but in the ‘connections’ we make taking the old apart to find new order living ourselves boldly for each other’s sake, then love is.” (Rg Gregory)
Prayer: Beautiful Spirit, we act for love every day.
Question: How might I accept emotional challenges as a gift helping to empower me?
March 17, 2024 Gospel John 12:20-33 Fifth Sunday of Lent