Scripture Reflection for The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King
November 21, 2004
People Deserve Compassion
This weekend we celebrate the solemnity of Christ the King. Christ is the King of all creation. He is the Redeemer. Paul's letter tells us that "he is before all things, and in him all things hold together." Yet he was never the king, never the Messiah, that was expected. Only the outcasts, only those whose opinion didn't matter to the world, saw him for who he was. This weekend we are called to see with the eyes of the woman who anoints, the tax collector who seeks, the criminal who understands the mission of the Messiah, and a retarded man who treats people with the compassion they deserve.
Of Mice and Messiahs
In John Steinbeck's novel, Of Mice and Men, George and Lennie form an unusual pair. George is short and smart. Lennie is huge and slow. The two have created an unusual friendship as they have worked on various farms. They are connected by their desire to look out for each other and to one day have a farm of their own.
Steinbeck's characterization of Lennie could easily have come from one of the Gospels. The mentally retarded Lennie is the one who knows how to treat people as Jesus did. It is Lennie who talks to Crooks, the crippled black stable buck. Lennie enters Crooks' room, a place where no whites have gone, because he doesn't see why race should matter. He treats Crooks like a real person. The irony here is that a retarded man who can think of little else but petting rabbits is the one who treats people with the compassion they deserve.
Unusual Suspects
Ours is a God of contradictions. He loves a good mystery. He takes delight at surprising us. Like Steinbeck's character Lennie, the gospels are filled with characters who are underdogs. These underdogs are the ones who are our role models for how to live.
Just before the last supper, a woman graciously anoints Jesus with oil. This is the same oil used for burial. She understood what his mission was. She understood that even the great King, the Messiah, would have to die in order that all may be saved. It's too bad that we couldn't say the same about the disciples. Those closest to him betrayed and denied him. The woman who lay at his feet and anointed him saw the way that she could serve the one who is the suffering servant.
About a month ago, we heard the story of Zaccheaus, the tax collector who was looking high and low for Jesus. Zaccheaus was a man both despised by the Jews and the Romans. He didn't fit in. Yet, in the end of the story we discover that Jesus was actually looking for him. To Jesus, it was more important to find Zaccheaus. Imagine that! A God who is looking for us!
Today we have the story of the criminal hanging to die alongside Jesus. He acknowledges that Jesus shouldn't have to die as he did. The man makes no excuses for the wrong he has done in his life, but hates to see someone as innocent as Jesus suffer. This man's honesty and compassion are the qualities that help us realize why he is the first to be in Paradise with Jesus.
So Let's All be Sinners
We're all in luck -- we're all sinners! That means Jesus is on the look-out for us. He is the shepherd who wants to gather us in, but we have to let him. We must hope that with each day we will grow closer and closer to becoming the people we are capable of being.
We need to keep the humble attitudes of the Gospel sinners in order that we may continue on our journey with Jesus. We have to check our "holier than thou" attitudes at the door. Now is not a time to thumb our noses. For with Jesus, the ones we thumb our noses at are the very ones who may be our best models of what it means to live a life that is acceptable to God.
And maybe, just maybe, we can be like Lennie and treat people with the compassion they truly deserve.
Life Applications:
How have your sins actually brought you closer to God?
What person in your life right now do you think is furthest away from living their life as Christ would? What positive qualities can you find in them?
How do you deal with the mysteries and the curve balls God presents to you?
Copyright 2001-2004 by Nick Popadich
All rights reserved.
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