How do you see the world? Is it a scary place? Is it a thing of beauty? Are strangers a source of immediate concern or curious wonderment? How do you interpret the unexpected? Is it wide-eyed wonder or a knowing dread? How many questions will this clown keep posing before getting to a point? How about one more?
The way we ‘see’ the world gives meaning to our lives. For some, their view of the world takes an already tough reality and makes it worse by means of a certain worldview. Others view the world in a way that makes them more resilient in the face of challenges and setbacks. The point is, we all have a lens through which we see the world. Most of us have several competing lenses through which to interpret daily life. The trick it seems is to find the lens for viewing the world that gives us the most accurate view possible while empowering us to respond appropriately.
A defeatist, ‘woe-is-me-nothing-ever-goes-right’ pair of glasses will produce one kind of life. Similarly to that, a proverbial ‘rose-colored- set of glasses will give an equally unhelpful view of life, setting us up to believe that real dangers and not, in fact, dangers. This too sets us up for a different kind of failure.
There may well be more to it than this, but I suppose if I were going to view the world through any type of lens, it would be through the lens formed during Holy Week. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus need to at least be our starting point for making sense of the world.
Holy week teaches us that:
- In life, there will be betrayals and setbacks, “but take heart, I [Jesus] have overcome the world.” ~John 16:33
- In the midst of beautiful moments, such as sharing a meal with friends, evil may lurk but its end is already determined, “Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out” ~John 12:31
- When all seems lost, God has the last word. “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” Colossians 2:15
- For a believer, for the Church, death is defeated and no longer has the final say. “So that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” ~Philippians 2:10-11
These (and more) are but a few words that give meaning and perspective to a Christ follower as she or he seeks to make sense of this life. It is the deliberate choice to view the world through Cross-shaped glasses, rather than anything less than that, that gives us a unique, Good-News-focused view of our lives, and even the whole world.
So, when it seems that the sky is falling we know the one who made that sky. And he knows us. And he is good. All the time. Let the days of this week we call, Holy, be like a new pair of glasses for each of us. Let the Cross of Jesus be the one, the first, the only way we view and interpret the events of this life.
Because, you see, Easter is coming.
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