Denying thyself

     'Tis the season to deny thyself, eh? Facebook seemed to be full of people requesting what one was giving up for Lent. They ran the gamut from chocolates, cookies and sweets  to 'giving up always trying to be right' and giving up Lent itself. Interesting ideas you might expect on Facebook.

     Perhaps today's passage gives us an idea of where the idea came from to 'give things up' for Lent.  I always thought it was a the idea of some kind of self denial or an infinitesimal participation in the suffering that Christ so willingly entered into on our behalf. All good reasons.

      But to what extent do we deny ourselves?  Should we deny who we are? That is almost suggested here as Jesus admonishes his disciples not to tell anyone who he is. But there is something much deeper here because Jesus clearly did not hide who he was. If he had, we would not be saved and Jesus might not have been crucified or have died for us.

        I'd like to stay with that notion of denying oneself though.  If you read the first line, Jesus is praying. To who? himself? God praying to God? Even Jesus in all his glory submitted himself to the Father. One part of the Trinity having so much love that he would submit himself to the Father and even to us, all the while not denying the greatness and totality of who he was. 

        As a gay man and a follower of Christ, should I deny who I am? For Lent? at all?  It might be argued that the trials, mischaracterizations and marginalization, if not hate, from acknowledging being gay might be enough alone to appreciate the sufferings of Christ in some way. Simply for being who we are as created by God. Are we not also "beloved" in every sense of the word?

         To that person who suggested giving up Lent, how about giving up simply giving something up? What that leaves you with is embracing who you are in it's totality. Totally human and to what extent divine I'd leave that for you to ponder. In general though, embracing your humanity and who you are as a person is still an excellent way to embrace Lent and to enter into the experience of Jesus. Jesus after all embraced his humanity to the full, shouldn't we?

       Never, ever deny who God made you to be.

Luke 9:18-25

Once when Jesus was praying alone, with only the disciples near him, he asked them, ‘Who do the crowds say that I am?’ They answered, ‘John the Baptist; but others, Elijah; and still others, that one of the ancient prophets has arisen.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered, ‘The Messiah of God.’ 

He sternly ordered and commanded them not to tell anyone, saying, ‘The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.’

Then he said to them all, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it. What does it profit them if they gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit themselves?

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