Naked

We read through the crucifixion story with the middle schoolers on Sunday. 

We read through Mark's version with a naked guy running off; that part is so weird.

Every time I read through that gruesome story of torture and death, I am struck by its lack of uniqueness. I'm still involved enough with Amnesty International to know that the torture and death of a political prisoner is not unusual or relegated to times past. 

I suppose what is unique is that we read about this torture on the other side of hope. 

Part of the Christian story is the entanglement of hope with sorrow. We can face the one because we have the other. 

Unfortunately, there's so much mushy shit out there with a Christian label that turns hope into "always look on the bright side of life" and the sorrow as a good teachable moment or something to be ignored. 

I don't know how you hold hope and sorrow in tension, especially on a brilliant spring day, but it seems like life creates the tension even if we don't want to live in it. As C.S. Lewis wrote after losing his wife, “The pain I feel now is the happiness I had before. That's the deal.”

So I delighted today and then read about torture in the world. 

I delighted in the lovely walk with my hubby, a little nookie on the beach, and the beauty surrounding us.

I delighted that the bar with a great lunch also had my new favorite nudey girl picture and a lending library of paperback books. 

I delighted as I tried to teach my chickens tic tac toe for the millionth time. They were so close and made me laugh with every attempt.

I delighted with a house full of kids and their friends running around in shorts and t-shirts. You could tell it was a balmy 50 degrees.

We rolled sushi and spring rolls together as a family while catching up on all the stories and gossip. I drank wine and danced in the kitchen cleaning up to some fabulous music.

Then I could face the news, the stories of life without dancing, nookie, or bars. I could face the fact that cancer, accidents, and addictions can send reality as I know it into a tailspin. 

The delight of love and beauty gives me the hope and courage to face the sorrow without dismissing or sugar coating it. I take the delight into the sorrow and the sorrow is always part of the delight. It's that whole death and resurrection thing shaping this week and pretty much every week in my life.