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| In
our Gospel today we read the prayer of Jesus the night before he died.
It is the longest prayer in the Bible. He says, “Father, most Holy,
protect them which You have given Me. I gave them Your word and the
world has hated them for it. They do not belong to the world any more
than I belong to the world. I do not ask You to take them out of the
world, but to guard them from the evil one. As You have sent me into the
world, so I have sent them into the world.” |
| This
prayer tells us something very important about Jesus. It tells us He
was a misfit.
This may sound strange, even sacrilegious. We think of misfits as people
who are emotionally unstable or socially retarded. They are suspicious
of almost everybody, in their minds the world is out to get them.
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| Jesus
was not like that: He had a healthy mind. His feelings were not easily
hurt, He gave people the benefit of the doubt, and His social skills
were without parallel. Yet the fact remains that He did not get along
with everybody He met. He was not full of sweetness and light all of the
time. If that was the case, how did He mange to get Himself crucified?
Many people saw Him as strange, even dangerous. |
| Jesus
firmly believed in the inherent value and worth of every person. This
sounds innocent and harmless, but translated in His day and age, this
could and did cause trouble. |
| Jesus
lived at a time when the Land of Israel was controlled by Rome. They
were occupied by an alien army and as you might guess, Romans were
hated, as was anyone who cooperated with them. What does Jesus do? He
heals the sick servant of a Roman Officer. And His instruction about
loving enemies included, without question, these foreign invaders. |
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Tax collectors were even more hated than Romans. They were held in utter
contempt, the lowest of the low. What does Jesus do? He befriended
them, and made one of them His apostle, St. Matthew. The Law said you
were not to get near a leper, rather stand at a distance. They were the
living dead. They were to live outside the camp. What does Jesus do? He
reaches out and touches a leper, and cures him.
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| Adultery
was the worst sin a woman could commit, thought to undermine the whole
social structure. We all know the story: a crowd drags a woman, throws
her at the feet of Jesus and accuses her. They have an airtight case:
whatever Jesus says, He will be in trouble. What does Jesus do? He
writes in the sand. Then He looks up and says, “If you are without sin,
cast the first stone. Does no one condemn you? Then I will not condemn
You.” |
| There
was another group that the people at the time of Jesus stayed away
from, the Samaritans. The animosity was so bad that people would travel
miles out of their way to avoid going through a Samaritan town. What
does Jesus do? He walks through a Samaritan village; He speaks to a
Samaritan woman at a well, and then goes back to their village to spend
time with them. And He even tells a story called “The Good Samaritan.” |
| Jesus
was a misfit because He never learned whom and how to hate. There are
still people who are outsiders, those who are unacceptable in our
culture and time. In some communities it is race against race. In
others, religion against religion, or the haves against the have-nots. |
| This
prayer of Jesus is relevant for us today. He wants us to live in the
world, but not to live like the world. We are to affirm the inherent
worth and value of every person. Perhaps we need to ask ourselves if
there is any person, any group that I force to live outside of my camp.
And if there is, what would Jesus do? |
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