Scar Marks

"From now on, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus."
-Galatians 6:17

We've begun a spiritual journey that can be painful! Lent is underway. 

In one of Paul's statements in Galatians, he warned the church that some around them were pushing a faith that looked very impressive and full of religious activity. There were grand gestures to prove its validity, like meticulously following Jewish law and practicing circumcision. Yet it actually cost them very little. He contrasts that with the way of Jesus, who laid down his life for the sake of others to bring freedom, not more laws.
 
And in the midst of persuading them that his faith was genuine (they were accusing him otherwise), he asked them to take a look at his own "marks." He'd been through a lot following Jesus, and his scars were living proof (2 Cor. 11:24). It wasn't religious gestures (circumcision), but rather the cost of faithful love, that proved his faith's legitimacy. Yes, he had actual marks from snakebites and shipwrecks. But he also bore the marks of a life of chosen poverty, a life that had led to his imprisonment. 

I did some work in our woods a few evenings ago with my machete,   hacking back some thorn bushes and trying to keep the wisteria at bay.  Regardless of my attempt to avoid pain, I still got ripped up a bit. If you look at my forearms, they bear the marks of a day in the thorns. 

The Greek word for "marks" that Paul uses is stigmata. It literally means "scar marks." Stigmata was used in several ways in the ancient world. Runaway slaves who were found were branded on their foreheads. Soldiers of famous commanders had their names tattooed on their faces. And worshippers of a pagan goddess had her name branded on their foreheads as well.  So Paul re-envisions the words and says...  "my stigmata, my scar marks, are my sign that my life is wrapped up in Jesus." 

We are now in the journey of Lent, traveling with Jesus toward the cross. During this time we embrace the frailty of our own human experience, and the need that we have for God's redemption. Some of us found meaning last evening in being "marked" with ashes, symbolizing our own brokenness. Entering Lent marks the willingness to walk with Jesus in the giving of our lives in order to walk with Jesus in the living of our lives. 

As disciples of Jesus, we are all "marked" people.  We are people who follow a scarred savior. And we bear scars ourselves, though often they are not physical. Some of our scars are reminders of the cost of following the countercultural way of Jesus. Some of them are symbols of pain that God is healing and redeeming.  Some of them are reminders of trauma and injustice that we are crying out to God for. But they are also a reminder that God is in the business of redeeming our pain. The marks we carry as we follow Jesus proclaim that our wounds are not the end of our story, nor are they to be hidden as a source of shame. They are glimpses that we understand the suffering savior, that he understands us, and that we trust him. 

I want to be marked this lent. 
Marked as one who belongs to The Way. 
Marked as one who will lay down my life in humility and love, even when it is costly. 
Marked as one who follows the path of peace that my teacher walked, even in a world that celebrates aggression. 
Marked as one whose compassion extends beyond the thickly drawn lines of our philosophical echo chambers and out toward the isolating confinements of all who suffer. 
Marked as one willing to proclaim that the United States is not the only group of people that matter.
Marked as one who embraces sorrows and limitations and mortality, yet still glimpses a hope that death cannot extinguish.  
Marked as one whose scars show that I belong to Jesus. 

Lent is a powerful season of being marked, and embracing our scars. 

Many of us have "stigma" about being the people of Jesus. We have stigma about belonging to God's Church. I get it. The reputation isn't good right now. We also have stigma about bearing our hurts and being uncomfortable. But let's trust that God can take the scars we bear and transform them into reminders of God's redemption and healing. Lean into lent this year, my friends. 

Jesus, help me be willing to be marked as I trust and follow you.

Peace,
Keith