Ed, my old neighbour from Saskatchewan, was still cranky from a bout of the flu and cold yesterday. Thankfully, his cold and flu had gone away, but not all of his grumpiness had disappeared. Being miserable left a fair-sized mark on Ed, like a wet towel on wood. Ruby, Ed’s wife, described him as in recovery but prone to fits of temper.
I understand being subject to fits of temper myself, but they are better to give than to receive. When Ed phoned yesterday, I was slow in answering because I was vacuuming. “What took you so long?” demanded Ed. “I was vacuuming,” I explained, a bit aggravated at his tone of voice. “Why are you vacuuming?” he demanded again like I owed him an explanation. “Why do you need to know?” I answered in a voice losing its friendliness. Then I added, “It’s my job.” “It’s your wife’s job,” he snapped like I should know that. “There is a division of labour in a marriage and husbands do not do housework, especially vacuuming,” he said like I was as dumb as dirt. "It sets a bad example for other men everywhere,” he added as though nothing more needed to be said on the subject.
Ed and I might have disagreed more about the division of labour, but Ed had called to share about his curling team and the burden of being such a “saviour skip” to his team. His curlers have been erratic rather than consistent. I suggested Ed should play as a one-man team. He could then be the perfect lead, second and third curler and skip all in one as the king of curling. Ed admitted if he did so, for a game or two, it would convince his team of his great talent and they would give him the respect he deserves.
I assured Ed the respect he deserves would come to him sooner or later. The truth, is honour does not always come to those who deserve it. The Bible confirms "the race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong," for situations and circumstances may be such that folks don’t get what they ought. Sometimes even the innocent may be found guilty. Time and chance, the unfolding of good and evil keep the present and the future uncertain. In the past, they put a sign above Jesus when he was on the cross that said “this is the king of the Jews.”
The fact that Jesus was the Son of God did not result in his respect here on Earth. Instead of a throne and a costly crown, he was nailed to the cross with thorns for a bloody crown. Many hurled insults at him calling for him to save himself. Even one of the criminals crucified beside Jesus mocked him saying, “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” The other criminal being crucified gave Jesus respect for he was certain Jesus had done nothing wrong.
Jesus was crucified because God despaired over the division, between himself, and sinful mankind. Jesus’ life and death reconciled sinners to God. Jesus brought God’s complete and undeserved pardon for us as his respected sinners.
