Scripture Reading: Mark 8:31-38

Relatable Emotions

I like Peter. And I like Jesus when he gets angry. I like Lent, too. And I really like Easter, but who doesn’t, right?

I like Peter, and I think a lot of us do, because he’s not primarily an intellectual and definitely not educated, but he has another gift − he puts himself out there. He bravely speaks the truth as he sees it, and he’s ready to take action to fix whatever is wrong. And, he gets angry sometimes. In Mark’s text it says he “rebuked” Jesus! Of course, Jesus had this gift of righteous anger too, and it’s one of his most relatable attributes. After all, he “rebuked” Peter right back! I love to picture them yelling at each other, hashing things out. Of course, ultimately Peter was wrong; Jesus had to die and Peter just didn’t get that yet. It frustrated and distracted Jesus, but I think he deeply loved Peter’s passion. After all, remember Jesus’ righteous anger kicking out the “entrepreneurs” in the Temple with a whip, no less. Those last weeks for Jesus on the road to Jerusalem, our Lenten season, were filled with his most human, most relatable emotions  anger, questions, pain. Like us.

So I like Lent because I get to see Jesus at his most relatable. But I also like Lent because Lent is about repentance, and I like repenting. I need repenting. I need to repent that I don't repent enough. But then I need to repent that I am indulging in self-pity, like: “Oh, woe is me, I'm so terrible and I’ll never be better!” See what I mean?

We need to remember, though, that Lent is not just about repentance. That’s just the buildup. And in any case, it doesn’t matter that you’ll never be better, that I’ll never be better, because we can’t be better. We are not able to be better on our own. We can only try to be better, try to do the right thing, try to say the right thing, get angry at the appropriate times − like Peter tried to. Bottom line though, there would be no need to try, no need for Lent, if it weren't for Easter. We get to the cross only by the grace of God through Jesus. I am so grateful!