carried

My kids love to be carried. Piggy-back is a favorite, but there’s something comforting about being in your parent’s arms, too. The thing about piggy-back is that you can see where you’re going and if you don’t like it you can say something about it. So even though they’re being carried, my kids like to tell me where I’m supposed to go.

As I was driving to worship yesterday, the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd carrying a lamb came to mind (since we were using it as the image for our time of examen and confession). The difference between the lamb and my kids is that the lamb isn’t trying to tell the Good Shepherd where he’s supposed to go.

Jesus told Peter that part of following Jesus is going where you don’t necessarily want to go. Peter protested, but Jesus simply repeated, “Follow me.” (John 21:18-22)

The image of Jesus carrying the lamb was chosen for this week’s theme (the third Sunday of Lent) of facing the brokenness of our self-reliance. As a follower of Jesus, I find that I’m like my kids and Peter, always wanting to tell Jesus where he’s supposed to be taking me. The paradox is that in Mark 13:13 Jesus tells us that if we are to “stand until the end” we are to lean completely on him whose “words will not pass away” (Mark 13:31).