Luke 22:19 (New International Version, ©2010)
19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
There are a lot of responses to the declaration, "It's not fair!"
-- You're right, it's not.
-- No one said it would be.
-- Suck it up, stop your whining.
-- Sure it's fair -- for me!
Leaders often rally support with promises of a fairer, brighter future.
Leaders often are deposed when these promises prove empty.
It's not fair.
Of every incident that led you here, how many were fair? How many were equitable? How many of them were based on where you were told to go? How about on where you wanted to go?
Jesus' parents weren't married when he was born - that wasn't fair. There wasn't room at the inn, so he had to be born in a grotto - and that wasn't fair. He had a whole bunch of half- and step-siblings and sometimes they weren't fair. He worked hard all his life but never made a million dollars -- and that's not fair. he was a brilliant speaker, but no one in his hometown appreciated him -- and that's not fair. Thousands of people followed him around, constantly expectin him to teach and heal and feed them -- and that wasn't fair. His best friend betrayed him to the authorities -- and that wasn't fair. He was arrested, convicted, and put to death for a rumor that he might be King of the Jews. That wasn't fair.
In all of his journey on Earth, he taught us to go beyond unfairness. Look beyond your body. Look beyond your blood. Look beyond all the things that break and are broken. Look to eternity.
That's where we will find fairness.
When the World says, "It's not fair!"
God says, "This is my body, broken for you."
Fairest Lord Jesus,
Things do break and fall apart. Things just aren't fair. But you know that, don't you, Lord? Help me see beyond the wrong. Help me see through the brokenness and hurt and inequities of life. I know there will be justice in heaven. Amen.
