Friday, March 30, 2018

Love and Its Many Incarnations

I spent much of yesterday thinking about service, thinking about love.  In some ways, that makes sense.  Yesterday was Maundy Thursday, after all, a day in Christendom that can celebrate the love of Christ and the way we manifest that love for each other.

I got to work prepared to do the physical labor of cleaning up after a gathering and moving all the furniture, all 20 tables and 70 chairs of it, back into classroom formation--but then I discovered that the night cleaning crew had already taken care of this task that wasn't exactly in anyone's job description.  I felt guilty for leaving a mess, although I couldn't have stayed much later Wednesday night.  But more than that, I felt loved.

Just before noon, I hurried away to church.  I'm lucky that my church is about a six minute drive from my work, so I could go to the noon Maundy Thursday service.  We had a foot washing option, but few of us partook.  One of us had small grandsons visiting, and they entered into the foot washing with great enthusiasm.

Throughout the day, I worked with several students to try to find solutions--that, too, felt like love.  I continue to be impressed with the teamwork of my campus--and I know how lucky we are.  Not a week goes by without me offering a silent prayer of gratitude, along with the hope that the teamwork continues.  I know how easy it is for it all to go sour.

In the afternoon, as I ate my snack of homemade bread, so suitable for Maundy Thursday, I read this story in The Washington Post.  I love the way this female chef solved the issue of harassment and abuse at her restaurant. I especially love this explanation of the benefit of the system she created: "The color system is elegant because it prevents women from having to relive damaging stories and relieves managers of having to make difficult judgment calls about situations that might not seem threatening based on their own experiences. The system acknowledges the differences in the ways that men and women experience the world, while creating a safe workplace."

The article shows us that the workplace is where many of us experience love or the lack of it.  It reminds us that managers can put structures into place that not only keep us all safe, but more importantly show a care and concern, a love that is so often lacking.

Today, Good Friday, much of Christendom will celebrate an ultimate expression of love:  God comes to earth to show us a better way of living our human lives, and in return, the most powerful earthly empire crucifies him.  Some Christians say that Jesus must die for human sin, but that idea of atonement has always troubled me.

Of course, my theology of the cross can get dangerously simplistic too. Ancient Rome had many crimes that warranted death as punishment, but crucifixion was reserved for those who were seen as a threat to the State: terrorists and insurrectionists and such. Jesus was seen as such a threat to the social order that the government had to kill him. I often read the Gospels looking for the message that was such a huge threat that the man had to be silenced.  It's an interesting lens.

We are also entering a time of Passover, another celebration of God's love.  Both Easter and Passover dovetail nicely as ways of showing that God will not be bound by powerful earthly empires--or even by death.  What humans may see as an insurmountable force, God does not.

What will today bring?  I plan to go to the noon Tenebrae service. It's always strange to go to that service at high noon. Our church doesn't have many glass windows, but it's still too light in the sanctuary.

I say I plan to go. I'll be at work, so it's always hard to know if I can be sure I can get away. Fridays are usually easy days for a noon appointment, but this is the week before a new quarter starts on Monday, so it's hard to know.

I hope to get away from work a smidge early--my sister and nephew are visiting.  But again, it's hard to know if that will be possible.  As I have written about before, it's not like we have a huge staff at work to do what must be done before Monday.  So, let me get started!

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