LENT 2004
From the Editor...
The
Joy of Being Wrong
Have we discovered the joy of being wrong? Perhaps
this Lent we need to anchor ourselves,
of all places, in the resurrection narrative of John 21. “Peter
was grieved because he said to him the
third time, ‘Do you love me?’” And he
said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my
sheep"" (John 21:17). You remember the story of how Peter disowned
the Lord three times when things all came to a crescendo. Clearly, this was in Peter's mind after Jesus
third query that is one reason why he was "grieved."
As James Alison, T. L. James Chair of
Religion at Centenary College,
from whose book the title of this article comes, writes, "the presence
of
the crucified and risen Lord to the disciples revealed that humans are
wrong
about God and about humanity. Not simply
wrong as mistaken, but wrong as actively involved in death."
Ponder that last phrase "actively involved in
death" well this Lent. Peter didn't
just let Jesus down, he didn't just slip up, he actively asserted his
own will
over that of his master. He rebelled,
and willed toward death, as one called by the Lord of life.
And yet there -- right there in his active wrongdoing,
Jesus loves him -- and commissions him to do his will as he loves and
commissions us, who perhaps might discover more deeply this Lent the
joy of
being wrong
The Rev. Canon Dr.
Kendall S. Harmon
Contact Dr Harmon by
e-mail at ksharmon@mindspring.com
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