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Bad things happen to good people and for that matter to bad people as well. In the Gospel of Matthew, following his baptism in the third chapter, as the fourth chapter opens, Jesus is driven by the Spirit into the wilderness. There he is tempted to take short cuts in his life that will lead to instant wealth, power, and fame. Wouldn’t you think that a high and holy moment such as his baptism should lead to a time of peace and quiet? Instead it led to the struggle of being tempted. Jesus faced the temptations and came through firmly committed to being faithful. He had taken a bad thing and made it a great beginning. |
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You would think that, now that he had stood so faithfully, God would make the way before him easy. But the next story, the lesson for this coming Sunday, that begins at Matthew 4:12 is the story of John the Baptist being arrested. His cousin, who had baptized him, was now gone from his life. You would think that Jesus might react with anger and say, "Enough is enough", and perhaps give up. But instead he begins to preach the Good News, call people to be his disciples, teach in the synagogues and heal the sick. He responded to another bad thing with good things in his life.
Jesus is teaching us that we cannot control what the world does to us, but we can control our reaction to what happens in life. The measure of a person is not what happens to them, but how they respond. Good and bad things will happen to all, however we can choose what our response will be. Even when we choose a good response there is no guarantee of a reward; we don’t do it for that reason. We are not called to be successful but to be faithful.
May God bless you and yours
January 23, 2008
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