Let Go

Made Flesh

To follow Jesus, you have to hate everybody, be ready to die, and give away all your stuff. If you don’t think you can do it, you shouldn’t even try. 

Really, Jesus? Really?

When I’m dealing with the harder things Jesus said, there’s something I try to remember before I start interpreting it: 

“Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” 

It’s kid stuff, I know, but those things we learn early stick with us. I believe Jesus is always loving us and seeking to heal, liberate, and save us. So, if I remember that,  the question becomes: how could these absurdly hard sayings heal us, liberate us, save us? 

I think Jesus was likely talking to a crowd of mostly upper-class folks. He’s talking about building towers, doing accounting, leading troops; there’s not an agricultural metaphor in sight. When Jesus talks to wealthy or powerful folks, he always speaks more sharply and dramatically. It seems like the more we have, the more it takes to get our attention.

The point, though, is never to shame or dismiss. Remember: Jesus loves me, this I know. That includes wealthy folks and powerful folks, folks who have everything—more than they need or can even enjoy. Folks who are able to control a lot more of their life than many people with fewer resources are able to. 

That might be the problem with getting their attention, and why Jesus has to speak so dramatically. Being able to control so much, to use power and money to bend the world to our will, obscures the truth: we are not in control. There are no guarantees. 

A friend of mine went through a divorce not too long ago. Around the same time, she received a life-altering medical diagnosis. Then she lost her job. It was an awful year. Maybe you’ve had years like that. 

The only way she found to cope was to let go of the illusion of control. To admit she doesn’t know what’s going to happen next. The more she tried to attach herself to various scenarios, the deeper her pain became. Letting go of that attachment has been the door to a kind of freedom—a hard kind of freedom, but freedom. It’s been a relief, and allowed her to be genuinely open to the movement of the Spirit. 

I think this is what Jesus is getting at when he talks about hating your family, your possessions, even your own life. It’s not literally about hating; it’s about letting go of attachments. Being overly attached to anything or anyone causes us so much pain. It’s only when we release our death grip that we’re able to actually receive life – real life, abundant life. It’s only when our hands are open that we can offer and receive love.

Of course, Luke’s been telling us this from the beginning, from Mary’s first prophetic words sung over her son, marveling at the God who would choose this way to enter the world: “He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.” 

Now, I’m all for pulling tyrants from their thrones, lifting up those laid low, and filling hungry bellies. Sending the rich away empty, though? That was harder to stomach – until I heard a pastor expand on it: “God sends the rich away with the only thing they lack—empty hands.”

“Do you want to be free?” Jesus asks. “Do you want to be made well?” 

If so, you’ll have to open that tightly-clenched fist and let go of some things. You will lose what you thought you couldn’t live without, what you thought would save you. Then, at last, when your hands are empty and open,  you’ll be able to receive the only thing that matters: Love. 

It’s terrifying to let go like that. It feels like dying. 

But it is salvation.

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Dwelling Among Us  

Try this exercise as you pray: Clench your fists as tight as you can. Then, clench them even harder. Hold them tight like that for as long as you can stand it. 

Think of what you might be so desperately hanging onto right now. Connect the thoughts to the physical sensations of holding on so tightly. When you can’t hold the fist one moment longer, let go. Open your hands. Feel your muscles relax. Feel your blood pump through your veins again. Feel the possibility, the freedom, the grace of empty hands.