Receiving and even Seeking Correction
Fourth Sunday of Easter (A): Lectionary 49
How do we respond to accusations, correction, suffering and persecution?
Very often, we treat accusation, correction, and suffering as things to be avoided at all costs, and rejected outright if they cannot be avoided. Avoiding discomfort is certainly an understandable and natural inclination, and indeed an animal instinct, but this is not the way that leads to life eternal.
Saint Peter accused his neighbors of something terrible: “…God has made both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” I can easily imagine myself there, and I am sure how I would respond: “oh, no, I didn’t crucify anyone. I mean, I wasn’t even there that day, well, not very much, anyway. And I didn’t actually put him on the cross. I mean, he would have been killed anyway, right? There’s nothing I could have done except get myself in trouble. I’ve got grandkids to think about.”
I would have made excuses for myself.
But when the people heard Saint Peter, they were cut to the heart. The Holy Spirit took from them their stony hearts, the hearts callous to the brutal beating and crucifixion of an innocent man, and gave them hearts of flesh upon which the law of love could be inscribed.
How do we respond when our conscience is pricked – when our heart is touched? Do we turn away and harden ourselves? Or do we repent and accept the spirit of love?
Now, there are two things here. The first is how we respond when we are persecuted, misunderstood or unjustly accused. The second is how we respond when we indeed need correction.
A few years ago, I had the best Lent ever. That Lent, I gave up defending and excusing myself, especially when I was sure I’d been misunderstood. It was incredibly freeing, and I highly recommend it. Indeed, I re-recommend it to myself often, because I so easily fall back into the habit of defending and excusing myself.
Will we, when unjustly accused and persecuted, strive to emulate Jesus? “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. When he was insulted, he returned no insult; when he suffered, he did not threaten; instead, he handed himself over to the one who judges justly.”
Will we, when justly accused, emulate these early Christians, who allowed their hearts to be softened, to repent and seek refuge in the heart of Jesus?
These are both difficult, but the bar is actually even higher than having the right response to accusations, corrections, or sufferings.
As Peter writes in his letter, “[we] had gone astray like sheep, but [we] have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of [our] souls.” The whole point of following the Good Shepherd is to be led where we should go. We are not rudderless ships that drift on the wind, nor are we trains on a track or self-driving cars that follow a set of rules to arrive safely at our destination.
We are sheep. We wander off. We are a bit stupid. We consume things that are bad for us. We get ourselves stuck in the corner of a round room. But, we are not just any ordinary sheep – we are the sheep of his flock. We know the voice of the one who leads us, and we choose to follow him.
That means we not only accept correction when it comes our way, but we even seek out the voice of the one who is calling us. And, as Isaiah says, it is a bit rare that we hear the voice of God cheering us on for being on the right track. More often, we hear a voice behind us, saying “this is the way.”
This is the whole point of following Jesus!
Correction is a mercy of God. It is for our good, and it leads us to eternal life. To follow Jesus is not to look for constant reassurance that I’m OK and you’re OK. To follow Jesus is not just to be converted and once saved, set on the right track, and left alone. To follow Jesus is to desire for him to lead us in the right path. It is to delight in his gentle correction. The Church calls this our call to constant conversion.
But, it is for our good, not for our good pleasure. What does the psalmist say? “He guides me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side.” That’s right – he guides us through the dark valley.
Certainly, we often wander into a dark valley on our own, but sometimes, he leads us there.
And that is where grace is found, because If you are patient when you suffer for doing what is good this is a grace before God.
On this Good Shepherd Sunday, with his help, I resolve to allow my heart to be softened, so that the Holy Spirit can write upon it more easily. I resolve to endure suffering with greater patience. I resolve to complain less, and to defend myself less. I resolve to seek out not only his comfort, but also his correction.
I invite you to join me.
As a final note, I received some feedback last week from a few of our parishioners. They were not sure what the instructions we received about receiving the blessing at the end of mass instead of at communion time mean for their children.
Since the Church has discerned that we should no longer give communion to infants and little children too young to understand, what are you supposed to do?
I am very thankful to those who raised the question, and that we have a the words of Jesus himself to offer in response:
Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.
We are happy to offer a prayer over your children, and they are welcome and encouraged to come forward with you.
