A Letter from Lindy March 10

Pilgrims,

 A part of me was grateful our gospel text ended where it did last week–with Peter claiming Jesus as Messiah and Jesus naming Peter as the foundation for the church. Truth be told, I wanted to avoid having to delve into Jesus’ subsequent rebuke, telling Peter to get behind him, Satan!
 
Whew! Peter was certainly having a bad day! I can’t imagine how I would respond to Jesus calling me out in such a profoundly public way. Especially after just claiming me the Rock on which his beloved community would be built. Talk about whiplash….
 
The tingly shock a body feels from head to toe when someone you love, and who loves you deeply, has the courage to name a truth, particularly a difficult truth, that you would prefer not to face. I remember the priest who officiated at Lanny’s and my wedding leading us in premarital counseling. We had to complete a pre-marriage inventory awareness “test”, that we then went through weekly, section by section. Observing that Lanny and I approached “big” (money, children, family etc) subjects differently, he cautioned that we might find ourselves at odds with each other (meaning we could find ourselves disagreeing to the point of arguing) opining that perhaps some of our anger might stem from the other holding a mirror before us–offering an image we’d prefer not to see. Many times, we found his caution to ring true–not that it saved us the fight :(
 
I wonder if it was the same for Peter, as he clung to an understanding of Messiah that did not meet the path Jesus was on with God. And Jesus loved Peter deeply…enough to hold a truth before him and risk his anger. And we get Peter. When our world unravels and our beliefs are tested, we may cling to what we know. As Jesus foretells his death and resurrection, Peter protests. Peter is fixed upon the way he thinks things should go; he resists the pain of what will come. But Jesus is fixed upon his calling and calls Peter out. For everyone, there comes a time when our faith is tested and we will have to face difficult and inconvenient truths. We may want to take the easier path, the path with less pain. We may want to cling to easy or simplistic answers. Instead, on Sunday, let’s explore what it looks like to welcome complexity. Can we stay fixed upon our convictions while also expanding our perspective? I believe this is our journey in Lent.
 
Let’s see where it takes us.
 
Pastor Lindy

(she/her) why pronouns matter