DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?
When a
police officer hears this from a driver pulled over for a clear violation of
traffic laws they must be tempted to quote Bugs Bunny and say: “What a maroon!” This happens when a person’s ego gets so big
they think they are above the law. When
this kind of thing hits the press everyone laughs at the arrogance of the
driver. But if we are honest we know we all
like to think of ourselves as important.
Everyone has an ego.
When standing
before the High Priest, the Sanhedrin and Pilate, Jesus, the only person who
ever lived who had the right to say, “Do
you know who I am”, did not. The humility of Christ under circumstances, which
he could have put and end to in a flash, shines a light on our petty desire for
attention.
The powers
in charge in Jerusalem at that time knew full well what Jesus was capable of. The reports of miracles He performed were
widely circulated and not just by mobs of gullible people, but credible
witnesses. Many people were afraid of
Christ because of the power He revealed.
I’ve always wondered at the monumental egoism of those leaders and
wonder why weren’t they afraid of Him? Maybe
because He didn’t fight back and showed no ego at all because He was
strengthened by the Holy Spirit. There is a school of thought that holds that Judas
wanted to force Jesus to show his power to these people but the real tragedy of
Judas is that he did not understand Jesus or his mission any more than they
did.
For those
of us who profess to follow Christ and want to spread the Gospel, the lack of
ego is critical especially when it comes to sharing faith. The only way evangelization has any impact is
if the evangelizer is kind, patient, understanding and free of ego. A tall order for most of us but Christ has
shown us the way by his life and His behavior that fateful day.
As we
attempt to share faith we must remember that the Holy Spirit is the driving
force, we are just the instruments.
T.S. Eliot wrote: “For
us there is only the trying. The rest is
none of our business.”
With love,
Carol Lemelin, OPA
No comments:
Post a Comment