I have done something to my laptop, so i could see the new family pictures, and it has affected my entire laptop. But this little change, so i can enjoy the smiles of my family, pales in comparison to the joy i get as i celebrate their beauty. As someone, much wiser than i, once said, as i paraphrase her, change is coming, one way or another, so you might as well embrace the changing seasons and make the most of them. As challenging as it is to work with this new screen and the affect the changing screen has had on my typing font, i will embrace it and accept it as a wonderful growing opportunity.
Too often, though, we get stuck in the anxiety that change brings, and we never get past the panic attacks, cold sweats, or sweaty palms that we all seem to suffer from when our nerves outpace our common sense and ability to control even our heart rate. Change can be a great thing, and we can all grow and become more whole when we embrace and accept that inevitibility of change, but it can also be the force that causes people to hide their heads in the sand, never to come up for air again.
As i reflect on change, i wonder how Jesus felt on the night he broke bread, for the last time, with the Twelve. Sure there were others around the table, but the Twelve had such a tremendous impact on Jesus, and they were closer to Him than the others. Surely, as they made their way to the upper room, as they began the preparations, and as they worshipped the traditional Passover liturgy, Jesus had to have had moments of anxiety. Tonight would be Jesus' last 'free' night on earth, and Jesus knew it. Soon he would be arrested, thrown in prison, and as Paul Harvey coined so long again, "the rest of the story."
But through the entire night, as Jesus led his followers through the powerful Passover celebration, He had to feel moments of anxiety. Change was coming, and Jesus knew He could face the change by hiding from it, maybe even surviving the painful death that lie ahead. Or, as He chose to do, Jesus could run, head first, courageously, into the pit, embracing and accepting all that lie ahead, knowing that whatever change was coming, GOD WAS IN CONTROL!
But Jerry, Jesus was Divine. He knew all along what was going to happen. He can face the change with peace. WE ARE NOT JESUS! I hear this all the time, and i lament how much we have missed the point.
The point is not that we are not Jesus. The point is that Jesus believed in us so much that he trusts us to live as close to His way as possible, so that no one, not even the greatest doubter, could distinguish the difference between us and Him. And as Jesus broke bread, illuminating the truth that one of them would betray Him, that very night, Jesus' calm, collected, and peaceful resolve points to how we all should deal with change, disappointment, and yes even betrayal.
If we could live and accept life, in all its changing levels, just as Jesus did, might we find something of the Divine resting right among us? Might we face change with resolution and confidence, because we know GOD IS IN CONTROL! And might we just, even for a little bit, learn how to love, forgive, and embrace not just our family and friends but also our enemies. And not just love and forgive our enemies, might we, just as Jesus did, also invite them to our tables so we, too, can break bread with them, knowing that they, that very night, might betray us. If we could embody this Jesus, many would call us lunatics, but they showered Jesus with much worse, so we would have good company.
And being with good people, like Jesus and His authentic followers, makes life worth living and much more enjoyable. So. Go into the world, do what needs to be done, live as Jesus lived, break bread with friend and foe, and let GOD BE GOD! What flows from trusting God, fully, wholly, is something akin to the peace that truly passes all understanding, and in our world of turmoil, we could all use more peace. Change comes regardless, whether it crushes us or not is our choice. Amen.
Shalom,
jerry
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