deep cleaning

My gums are still sore from a dentist appointment I had today.

So I've always known all the things you're supposed to do for good dental health: Brush your teeth. Floss daily. Don't eat too many sweets or drink too much soda. Get consistant dental checkups. Und so weiter...

For a long time, I didn't really take my dental health seriously. Sure, I'd brush twice a day, but I'd only floss once in a blue moon and I still drank copious amounts of Dr Pepper and made no effort to curb my sugary food intake. I didn't go to a single dental checkup from about 2008 to 2012 - not one.

In the last year or two I've slowly begun to change my habits. I still don't eat or drink as healthily as I should, but I'm worlds more health conscious than I used to be. I've started flossing every night, consistently. And this February I finally made it back to the dentist.

I was dreading the appointment because I knew the prognosis would be grim, and my prediction was correct: seven cavities and pre-periodontal disease, aka gums headed straight toward gingivitis. The good news was that the condition is completely reversible, provided I make some habit changes and get a deep cleaning treatment. This prescribed treatment requires numbing up my mouth and raking off months', if not years', worth of plaque and grime. Today the right side of my mouth got cleaned, next week I get the left side done.

I'm pretty sure my dentist didn't believe me when I told him I floss every day, but I understand the root problem: my changed habits in recent months didn't eliminate the buildup of years of neglect on my part. Sure, the teeth on the surface were mostly fine, but deep down a problem lingered that needed special help.

As I sat in that uncomfortable dentist chair, pick and scalpel poking around my numbed-up mouth, I starting thinking about conversion experiences. So often when a person comes to the Christian faith, he or she has a story that goes like, "My life was out of control, I had no hope, then Jesus came in and now everything's great!"

That's a beautiful story, and I don't mean to diminish anyone's experience; however, I think hearing that narrative over and over creates a false image of what a life lived in faith actually looks like. The daily habits are important - sharing community with fellow believers, praying, reading Scripture, practicing the Sabbath, and so on. But often we build up so much junk and pain under the surface that we need to invite God in for some deep cleaning.

One of this week's passages in the lectionary used by many United Methodist churches is Mark 8:31-38. This story comes right after Peter, one of Jesus's most loyal followers, makes this grand pronouncement that he believes Jesus is the Messiah:

³¹Jesus began telling his disciples what would happen to him. He said, "The nation's leaders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law of Moses will make the Son of Man suffer terribly. He will be rejected and killed, but three days later he will rise to life." ³²Then Jesus explained clearly what he meant.

Peter took Jesus aside and told him to stop talking like that. ³³But when Jesus turned and saw the disciples, he corrected Peter. He said to him, "Satan, get away from me! You are thinking like everyone else and not like God."

³⁴Jesus then told the crowd and the disciples to come closer, and he said:

If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross and follow me. ³⁵If you want to save your life, you will destroy it. But if you give up your life for me and for the good news, you will save it. ³⁶What will you gain, if you own the whole world but destroy yourself? ³⁷What could you give to get back your soul?

³⁸Don't be ashamed of me and my message among these unfaithful and sinful people! If you are, the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. (Contemporary English Version)

Point A: How much must it suck to be called "Satan" by Jesus? That'd mess me up.

Point B: Christianity can seem pretty grim when you really look at the type of life Jesus models and demands. You must take up your cross? In contemporary language that'd be like Jesus saying, "Put a gun to your head and pull the trigger if you want to follow me." But I think this goes back to the idea of deep cleaning: In that denial of self, in that willingness to sacrifice, God can reach the darker points of our lives and start the real work of deep level healing.

Currently, my mouth is kind of sore and there's some bloody, discolored patches in my gums. Dental appointments are some of the least fun experiences I can have, but I'm trying to get back to consistency for the sake of my oral health. However, what, if anything, am I willing to sacrifice for my spiritual health?