Letting go and sparking joy
With Easter in sight, it is easy to want to skip over the sobering realities of the coming week and begin celebrating prematurely. However, in order to fully appreciate why Easter matters so much, it is crucial that we not cut short our Lenten journey, and that we dare to let go of what may still be weighing us down so that we can take hold of what God has waiting for us.
Letting go and decluttering has become a “thing” these days, thanks, in part, to Marie Kondo, a gentle-spirited, petite young woman who has become something of a cultural phenomenon as a result of her unique approach to organizing. “Tidy your space, transform your life,” she urges. Advising us to let go of that which no longer sparks joy, she has earned a place among the 100 most influential people in the world. To be sure, letting go of things can be incredibly freeing and lifegiving, but getting rid of what we no longer need or want is not the only way to spark joy in our lives. Joy is also sparked when we dare to give away that which we treasure so that others might have joy as well.
This is exactly what we find Mary, sister of Martha and Lazarus, doing as she takes expensive perfume and anoints Jesus’ feet with it, then dries his feet with her hair. (John 12:18) While Judas was quick to criticize her extravagance by pointing out that the perfume should have been sold and the money used to help the poor, Jesus affirmed Mary’s actions, reminding those surrounding him that although they would always have the poor with them, they would not always have him. Mary chose to seize the moment, to spill her perfume with wild abandon, so that she might be able to express her love and gratitude to the one who had raised her brother from the dead and filled her life with hope and meaning.
Sometimes we are called to let go of concrete, tangible things, as Mary did, and sometimes what we most need to let go of has to do with our thoughts and our beliefs. Consider the apostle Paul, who did not start out as a follower of Jesus but rather as one who persecuted Christians with great zeal and took pride in his impeccable credentials: circumcised on the eighth day, named after Israel’s first king (Paul’s given name at birth was Saul), observant of religious law. All of that changed as the result of a dramatic conversion experience, which prompted Paul to let go of what he had once valued in order to make room for Christ — for that which ultimately sparked joy in him.
Letting go of that which is familiar — of that which we have gotten used to and in which we have invested ourselves — is seldom easy, yet leaving the past behind (after having learned from it) is crucial if we are to live the lives God created us to live. We cannot take hold of the future God has in store for us if we are clutching for dear life onto the past. Joseph Campbell wrote: “We must let go of the life we have planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” As we journey through this coming week — a week in the life of Jesus filled with both the best and worst of what humanity had to offer — may we dare to let go of those things that are weighing us down and preventing us from experiencing God’s love in all of its fullness. May we also freely share with others that which we treasure so that joy may be sparked in them — the joy that comes from knowing that our God is an awesome God indeed!