Letting Go

As seen in the Village Voice and HEARTBeat

Letting Go

            Sometimes letting go is good, and sometimes it’s not so good.  We let go of children as they leave “the nest,” hoping they make good decisions in their life.  We let go of family and friends who reach their time on this earth, still knowing we will see them again someday.  And I’ve even let go of a tiny hummingbird I picked up off the floor of the local Walmart, thinking it was hurt.  After it warmed itself in the clutch of my hand, I opened it and it flew away to the nearest branch.  Letting go can be heart-wrenching, filled with hope, or allowing the wonders of nature play out before our eyes.

            “Letting go” is also a phrase used in the south to describe when things come apart such as, “that engine just let go and smoke flew everywhere!”  Recently my wife and I had a “let go” experience.  We were on a short vacation.  After eating at a local restaurant, we got in our car and were heading to the theater for a production.  The car backed out of the parking space, but when I moved the shift lever to “D” the car continued in reverse!  No matter how many times I moved the shifter back and forth, and no matter how much verbal urging I voiced to the car, the shifter cable just “let go!”  After a tow and a few hours in the local dealership we were capable of moving backward and forwards again!

            Letting go is something Jesus had to do many times in His ministry.  People came from everywhere to see this “prophet” perform miracles or maybe ask for healing themselves.  Knowing they came only for physical reasons, Jesus had to let them go as they were not interested in being spiritually “healed.”  Jesus had to “let go” of Judas Iscariot.  Knowing Judas would soon betray Him to the Pharisees, Jesus treated Him no differently than the other disciples, even lowering Himself to wash the very feet of His betrayer!

            This week, we think of the time Jesus had to “let go” of His earthly existence.  He wept over Jerusalem as He stood on the hillside before His entry on Palm Sunday to the cheers of “Hosanna,” knowing this would be the same crowd who would yell “crucify Him” in a few days.  Jesus had to “let go” of everything and everyone He had touched and leave them all behind.  The cross was His and His alone to bear, and no one could go with Him.

            As we think about Holy week, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Resurrection Sunday, let us all contemplate the things we need to “let go” of to let God have His way.  Remember, it’s only when we let go of the side of the pool are we able to swim across it!  Let go of the ownership of our life, and let Christ, who bought us with His life, fill us, guide us, and direct us to a wonderful life – both on earth and our lives to come!