This mirror [Christ's crucifixion] is not passive only, showing what is; it is active, creating new things to be [...] resurrection is another me. (p.13-14)
I love this thought. Lent is not about wallowing, about feeling sorry for our pathetic selves. It begins with ashes, but it ends with palm fronds and Easter lilies. When we look at Christ crucified, we see our truest selves, "naked and poor," exposed. We see our sin, but in the same instant it is recognized, it's absolved. The "tremendous truth," as Wangerin says, is that the moment we truly see the dirt, we are cleansed of it. Talk about amazing grace! It's like a funhouse mirror...Christ shows you the old self and the new self all wrapped into one. If either one were missing, though, the story would be incomplete.
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I am behind Devo in the book and just read this one last night. This concept of people in our lives being mirrors to our souls deeply resonated with me. Tonight, as I was fussing over whether to just do my own dishes or to do the few belonging to my roommates that had made a small pile, I realized how much my struggles over whether or not I should serve my roommates are a mirror into my own ridiculous selfishness. After I made the choice to wash the extra dishes, I found myself in equal parts smug satisfaction and lingering annoyance. I even thought to myself, "I am like getting my Master's degree in dishes!" I justify my annoyance and selfishness by saying "Oh, I wash dishes and clean for someone else every night- I just want to come home and not have to do it all over again." But it's a cheap excuse. I'm just being selfish, and this relationship shows me some serious ugliness in the mirror. It didn't really hit me until I read Devo's response that Christ shows us our sin and in the same moment cleanses us of it. Thanks, Devo. And thanks, Jesus.
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