Holy Brit

Today's Gospel is in sharp contrast to my mood - I actually woke up smiling today. One of the kids had snuggled in so tight to my husband in bed that he was about to fall off the other side and the rescue package involved me encouraging the sleeping one to shift over to me for a hug - nice start to a smiling morning.

No one will want to get out of bed - of course - they were up too late last night. The same little hugger, when prompted by her father to call her Grandmother for a lecture on the existence of Santa started the conversation with the words,
"Why did you tell him lies, and fill his head with fluff?" We could not stop laughing - she is seven. Poor Grandma was befuzzled by the monster we have raised.

But she was just after the truth and truth is a commodity in our rapidly moving world. Truth is something which we all claim to want but sometimes do not want to hold on to or to really fight for - after all truth will lead us to some outrageous statements if we are not careful.

Jesus was famous for outrageous statements. In a society infused with those sayings which are familiar to us we may not take His words as jarring or harsh but they were, they were an attack to the core of many of the people who heard them. They had the ability to do two things - the most positive was to convert, to change the life of the listener and to renew or begin right relationship with God. The other was to invoke hatred and anger. Jesus prayer in the garden is the beginning of the end of these things - hatred and anger will have their sway but truth and life will win out.

Where do we find truth in our lives and in our world and where do we deny it? Do we choose the candy cane sweetness of Santa over the hard-nosed reality of the incarnation - over a savior who cries out in pain in his last prayers - whose friends fall asleep - who is abandoned and alone - who is all the things we work so ahrd not to be - outspoken, disliked, reviled and yet at the same time is everything we should want to be - truth embodied, a voice for the weak and downtrodden, love in human form.

Sometimes we can skate the rail, sometimes we cannot - it is our choice how subtle to be - it is also our choice how much to sacrifice in the name of polity and manners - when we look at Jesus praying in the garden - pray that we do not sacrifice truth.