Monday Lent 4

The same thing could happen to us. We must be on guard so that we never get caught up in wanting our own way…. And we must not turn our religion into a circus…”

1 Corinthians 1:6-7 MSG

“Turning our religion into a circus,” now that’s a thought!

A circus has performers who may have several different jobs. But their main job is to entertain (and make money) so the show can go on. Unfortunately,  in religion, the gospel has been marketed. It has been paraded around as something entertaining, something that serves us and serves those who fall in line with the act.  Try calling out a trick or two, and soon you find yourself ejected,  or rejected, shunned, or shamed.

This shouldn’t be so. The gospel is for everyone.  It is for everyone who has breath, not just for the redeemed but for all people.  There is no performing at the foot of the cross.  All who come to the cross come by way of humility at some point or another. There is no one to entertain at the foot of the cross, nor is there money to be made.

The problem happens when we rise from the foot of the cross. We forget the humbleness of our experience. We forget the desperation we felt. We forget just how lost we were and how wonderful it felt to feel found.

We begin to feel lost again, but God forbid someone find out, so we begin to “fake it til we make it.” Besides, the show must go on.