It was a different but wonderful day, Father. Thank you for giving me the ultimate reason to rejoice! I was lost but now I’m found! All praise to you!
Luke 9:21-22 (<<click to read the passage)
My son, Massey, is getting very close to completing the work needed for his doctorate in Aerospace Engineering. It has been (and still is!) a long arduous journey (most definitely for him and some for us, too!) As of yesterday, his first major paper to this end was accepted and at some point, it will be published in the ASME: Journal of Fluids Engineering.
Now I am not just putting this out there because we are SO proud of him… (OK to some degree I am!) but it is applicable to today’s passage.
Believe it or not, I actually helped him with his paper but, please, don’t be impressed. Since high school, I have been his proofer, if you will. Most of his paper was way over my head – lots of formulas and a ton of math stuff, equations and the like. (It does have cool pictures!) But my job was to read it through and check for grammatical issues. I found a few things but overall, it was very well written.
Even though Karen and I have accompanied him on his journey, and I have read through a boiling down of all of his work, I really only have a remedial understanding of what it’s all about And that is where the disciples have a leg up on me.
They had journeyed with Jesus from the beginning of His ministry. They had seen the miracles, they had heard Him teach, they had experienced it all. And now, with Peter’s confession of Him being the Messiah, they knew who He was…at least who they thought He was. In reality, they only knew what they knew, which was not a whole lot.
Messianic prophecy was full of hope and expectancy but truly it was full of a lot of speculation. Even scholars – those teachers of the Law who knew the Law frontwards and backward – even they could only conjure up educated guesses. Commonly held concepts portrayed the Messiah as a conquering king…and Jesus was most assuredly that. But…there was so much more to who the Messiah was and what he would do. And that is where the disciples, and all of Israel for that matter, had absolutely no clue.
In Luke’s Gospel, this is the first time Jesus will share with them the truth of who the Messiah is and what He must accomplish. But, like my understanding of much of Massey’s doctoral work, it basically flew right over their heads. What he shared with them was unfathomable. They couldn’t even begin to wrap their finite minds around it. But eventually, and this is where they have a leg up on me in regard to Massey’s work, they will grasp, to some degree, what it was all about, at least enough to fall at Jesus’ feet and give Him the eternal praise and glory, of which He is so deserving.
But, on this side of eternity, can any of us totally understand the whys and hows of the sacrifice Jesus made for all humanity? No, we can’t…but that is all the more reason to give ourselves over to Him, serving Him and loving Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30). And that is my goal until He calls me home! Amen.
Apr 12th, 2020, EASTER SUNDAY, 6:27 pm
