Transcending the ego

Gospel: Lk 9:22-25

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021524.cfm

It is so easy that it’s almost natural for us to keep ourselves separated from the Divine will. Separation from the Divine will is not merely about how well we’ve avoided or given into sin. That may be part of it, but God is not keeping score on what we perceive as sin. We have social constructs about what is right and what is wrong, what is socially acceptable and unacceptable, what we expect or do not expect out of life. With all this judgmental thinking, we tear ourselves and others down.

In the first part of today’s gospel, Jesus speaks of how he will suffer and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and the scribes. The ones that will persecute him are the ones who are respected for their experience, those respected for religious authority, and those that were most knowledgeable of scripture and doctrine. They are all external forces in positions of power and societal influence.

In the second part of the scripture, the gaze is moved from external to internal. To follow Jesus, one must deny oneself, take up one’s cross, and lose one’s life. We are called to self-emptying. We do this by transcending the shameful and conceited perspective of our ego and facing our reality and situation with love.

In both regards, following God is freedom. It’s a freedom beyond the internal and the external power dynamics that plague us. It’s living life on the terms of the creator beyond your perception of not being worthy, being better than anyone else, or even placing yourself somewhere in the middle. In living for God we go beyond all that and become one. We become who we were intended to become: inclusive and loving of God, self, others, and creation.