not all wars have tanks. not all disagreements have love.

​I grew up in the traditions and ceremonies of the Catholic faith. So I'm familiar with Ash Wednesday. And Lent.

I remember the ashes on my forehead. I remember giving up Snickers bars. I remember no meat on Fridays (except for fish...).

There will be a lot traditions honored today across many faith groups. There will be ceremonies. Sacrifices. All hailed as preparations for Easter.

I'm not here to bash any of that. Not at all. Ceremonies and traditions bring people together. They center hearts on the season.

But I am here to suggest this Easter season - maybe more than ever - our hearts need to be centered on loving one another more than celebrating with one another. I think our hearts and minds and souls need to consider what is worth pouring into one another more than what we give up.

I suppose when you hear me say our hearts need this more than ever, it would be easy to think I say this with a heart that grieves over the battle between Ukranians and Russians. My heart surely does grieve that battle. But closer to home, my heart equally grieves the battle between me and you. The battles we have with one another.

Our political battles. Our pandemic battles. Our racial battles. Our gender and sexuality battles.

And to be clear, disagreement does not equal a battle. But name calling and hurtful words and disrespect in the middle of those disagreements - that turns a disagreement into a battle. A war.

Not all wars have tanks. Not all disagreements have love.

I can't help but imagine as Jesus overlooks our ceremonies today - as he sees us take up our traditions - might he be asking, where is the love?

Whenever I need to remind myself of the importance the Jesus who begins today a 40 day march to the Cross places on love - I turn to 1 Corinthians:

***

If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.

If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing.

If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.

***

I am bankrupt without love.....

I do wonder if some of our battles are bankrupting us. I do wonder if someday we'll show up at the feet of Jesus, proud of the battles we fought in his name, presenting him our trophies, only to have him turn to us and ask us how we could have possibly fought so hard in life only to arrive so bankrupt.

Maybe this is the season to not go bankrupt, but to fill our account. Fill it with love. Jesus gives us the path to that end.

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

Maybe this is the season to paint our rusty gates. And then open them with loving arms to all.

TO ALL.

Maybe we don't give up Snickers bars this year, but our battles instead.

Jesus told us we can't possible understand all that's going on these days. But he promised one day we will. Clealry. But until then, he said:

"Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love."

The best of the three is love.......