Deacon
Tom Writes,
“But….
You Just Don’t Understand”
Have you ever heard the expression, “But….you just don’t understand”? That
phrase finds its way into a conversation often when someone feels they are not
getting the emotional support they need to communicating “their side” of the
story or when they are trying to justify their own bad behavior and explain how
things were “different for them”.
In his letter to the Hebrews St. Paul makes the point that Jesus
experienced the fullness of our human experience. “He has been tested in every way, yet without sin” Jesus was
ridiculed. He knows what it is like to be made fun of, to be rejected, and to
be poor. Jesus had no political connections or a regular job to go to Monday
through Friday. He had no family (wife and children ) of his own. And when the
chips were down, when public opinion turned against Him, He was betrayed by a
close friend, arrested, tortured, given a pretense of a trial on trumped up
charges, found guilty, and finally executed on behalf of those He had spent his
life trying to help. Yes, Jesus was “tested
in every way” to say the least. He experienced all the hardships of life, yet
never offered an excuse… “Hey, wait…. you
don’t understand…. I’m the son of God”. No…. He continued to be a servant
of all and surrendered His life as “ransom
for many”.
Today Jesus spells out a condition of discipleship, namely, that we are
to imitate Him in serving others... the poor, the marginalized, the prisoner,
those who cannot speak for themselves. They are an easily identifiable lot; we
find them spoken of often in the books of the Old Testament as those most in need of God’s care and protection,
and they are: the…widows, orphans
and strangers. Today we see them in the detention centers on the
Evening News or rummaging through the wreckage of their homes destroyed
by the recent hurricanes or tsunamis or earthquakes. We see them huddled together
waiting for someone to help, to listen, to be present.
Now, a day will come when each of us will stand in judgment before
Jesus and we will have to render an account of our lives. St Paul gives us some
insight into that incredulous moment in his Letter to the Hebrews writing, “Brothers and sisters: Indeed the word of God
is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even
between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and
thoughts of the heart. No creature is concealed from him, but everything is
naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we mush render and account.”
Then we are going to have to explain what we did for the least of our brothers
and sisters (those special people Jesus was so fond of during his life). When our
day comes, I hope there will be someone standing next to Jesus to put in a good
word for us; someone in whose life we have made a difference. And then we hear
Jesus says “OK, Joe here from the soup kitchen has put in a good word for you,
come on in!” On the other hand, if there is no one there to speak on our
behalf, I guess we’ll have to give this feeble excuse, “Well, Jesus, you just
don’t understand….” and then, hope for the best…
Enjoy the day!
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