Grounded

Fifth Sunday in Lent: John 19:1-16a

Let us take a moment to center ourselves, to ground ourselves in the love of God…

Let us breathe deep, inhaling in through our nose, and release out through our mouth…

God, may the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you this morning…

Do you know that people who swear have better mental health on average than those who don’t? It’s not that every situation calls for cursing, but what is happening in this world is unbelievable, unacceptable in so many ways. Don’t worry, I am not going to swear from the pulpit, I’ll save it for later. At the same time, we can detach ourselves from our emotions, thoughts, and the events going around us, to gain perspective that this is what is happening, this is the feelings and thoughts and reactions to what is happening, but we do have some separation as a spiritual beings.

In the Gospel of John, after the Supper, we have Jesus being arrested in the garden. This gospel skips Jesus’ prayer asking for the cup to be removed. However, in the Gospel of Luke, it was told that Jesus sweated blood as he struggled to accept his arrest, torture, and crucifixion. Jesus, being fully human, felt the things any human would feel in that situation of being betrayed, deserted, and arrested. Jesus works through it and prepares himself for the events about to come.

Here is Pilate, the governor, the authority of the Roman Empire tasked to watch over the province of Judah, keep the peace and the taxes going. Though the Gospel of John says he finds no reason to hold, much less crucify, Jesus. Any person who claims to be a king and any hint of rebellion has to be, and was, quickly dealt with. This was Pilate’s job number one, protect the Empire. As we have talked about, this gospel tries to put all the blame on the Jewish people. Though the Jewish religious leaders have some pull and leverage to keep the peace and work with or disrupt Pilate’s governance, Pilate is firmly in control at this time. Pilate does have the power to release or crucify him. Maybe he feared those who shouted for his crucifixion, maybe he feared those who paraded with Jesus shouting, “Hosanna!” But he had the power to back up either decision and make it stick.

While many Jewish leaders called for the crucifixion, and the disciples and other followers hid in fear, Jesus seemed to be the calm at the center of the storm. Again, Jesus prepared himself in prayer and accepted the path he was on. Throughout the Gospel of John, Jesus is quoted with ‘I am’ sayings. Jesus is stating his identity, his purpose, and his relationship with God and the world. ‘I am’ is in relationship with the name of God, “YHWH” which can mean, ‘I am who I am.’ Jesus holds on to his identity, his purpose, and his relationship that sees him through terrible, horrible, no-good day.

Turn to your neighbor, and say, “I am loved”…. “I am safe”…. “I am a child of God”…

Saying out loud, “I am loved” brings us back into relationship with God, with our family, our community, and with the world. Saying out loud, “I am safe” reduces the levels of cortisol in our bodies and turns off our fight or flight brain patterns. Saying out loud, “I am a child of God” grounds ourselves in remembering who we are.

In our 24/7 news cycle and what did our president and his lackeys do or say now that will elicit responses of profanity. It is also good to have routines of grounding on a daily basis to keep our bodies, emotions, thoughts, and spirits healthy. It is good to be in the know of the events of the world, but also have times of positive activity, thought, and community. It is good to struggle through this with God being honest of what scares us, what angers us, and all the emotions that flow through us. It is also better to have gratitude be the base line of our lives and find or create joy that crowds out the fear and uncertainty.

Let us ground ourselves in the kingdom of God, the way of life that invites us to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with our God. Amen.