In the simplest of acts, the first wound of Christ was delivered on his cheek. The cruelest of actions in the form of a kiss. The sting of betrayal was no less painful for him that he knew it eventually come. With a kiss, Christ was accused. An act that usually brings warmth, came with pain. A relationship severed. A heart broken. A world to heal.
False accusations are the beginning. The birth of pride. Based on half truths and lies, we twist the truth and develop disunity based on a false reality. Even those who are closest to us are not immune from the accusations delivered with a knife in the back. Betrayal at the hand of a friend can be the most painful experience and the most destructive to any relationship. And if that weren't enough, we twist the knife until the pain reaches the pinnacle.
We're good at inflicting pain on each other, aren't we? But we won't admit it, because in the end, we make better liars.
"I love you!....But I'll lie in a heartbeat to defend and protect myself. I'll shove this knife into your back quicker than you can say, "I love you too!", and I'll twist is again and again and again and again and again....."
"You feel it? Good! I win. You loose. I'm protected. I'm sheltered. No one can come inside, and if you do, you'll get a knife in the back as well! By the way, I love you."
How often do we mask our own selfish, senseless cruelty to others, with "love" based on lies and deceptions? How many relationships die at the hands of pride? How much loss?
I love you.
I will lie.
I will endure.
We live false lives and the falsehood accuses the truth. We accuse. We lie. We stab. We kill.
We sharpen the knife, in the name of love.
God, when we lie to each other and accuse each other falsely, we not only hurt each other, we break your heart as well. When we feel the need to protect ourselves with lies, we simply reveal that we don't trust you. As we make our way through Lent, reflecting on the messes we make in this world, help us to trust in you and only in you, the Christ nature within us all. Let the kisses we give to others not be followed by knifes in the back, but with a dagger of love. Amen
God, when we lie to each other and accuse each other falsely, we not only hurt each other, we break your heart as well. When we feel the need to protect ourselves with lies, we simply reveal that we don't trust you. As we make our way through Lent, reflecting on the messes we make in this world, help us to trust in you and only in you, the Christ nature within us all. Let the kisses we give to others not be followed by knifes in the back, but with a dagger of love. Amen
