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A woman was searching for a birthday card for her husband. She saw one that read. “Darling, you’re the answer to my prayers.” Thinking this might just be the right one she opened it and read, “You’re not what I prayed for exactly, but apparently you’re the answer.” A wise person would take the message. And that is the message Jesus was sending to John the Baptist in his reply in this Sunday’s Gospel.
John, along with the Jewish people, had expected a very different Messiah from the one they got. John had wanted a fierce judge who would smack everyone into line. Others wanted a fierce warrior king who would expel the Romans and rule the people righteously with a strong hand. All wanted the healing and liberation that Isaiah described. But nobody, nobody expected Jesus. He looked fairly, well, ordinary. He did not force people to follow him rather he lured them, he spoke to their hearts. What he wanted was not conformity to his rules but conversion to his way of loving.
It is useful exercise to ask ourselves just what kind of Saviour we want, and then ask what kind of person Jesus is to us. One thing I know is that Jesus does not save us out of the circumstances in which we are, rather he saves in and through the midst of the lives we have. When he calls us, lures us in love, don’t expect it to be ‘relaxed and comfortable’. Rather he calls us into the fullness of life. Growth is often not easy but it is fulfilling. One thing is certain as we grow in love, the ways of God will amaze us….if for nothing other than being different from what we expect.
Past Reflections |
