Sunday Readings for November 24, 2019

A good friend of mine once told me, “The Christian should never be personally offended by a private critique. Either what the other person says is true and we should receive it as correction or it is false and we should dismiss it as inaccurate.” Whoa. 

That was hard for me to hear and has been even harder to live out since then. How do I not let my feeling be hurt when someone says something negative about me, even if it is untrue? At the same time, maybe it is worse when someone critiques me and I know what they are saying is true. Admitting that someone knows my faults and shortcomings is difficult.

We hear in the gospel this Sunday that while Jesus hung on the cross, he was accused over and over of the same thing. He was mocked for what he had preached about himself. First the rulers, then the soldiers, and then even a convicted criminal all accuse Jesus of the same thing – being the Christ, the chosen one of God and the savior of the world. 

Of course, we know that they were right. They mocked him and asked him to save himself. The rude thief asked Jesus to save both of them. The reality is that Jesus was doing exactly that by dying on the cross. 

Who spoke the truth about Jesus while he suffered on the cross? Jesus’ enemies. Who named him Christ and King? Jesus’ accusers. They didn’t know the truth of their sneers. They didn’t know the accuracy of their description of Jesus’ mission. They thought Jesus was delusional and they ripped him for his claims. 

I think this scripture calls us to two things. First, we’re invited respond to sneers, jeers, and reviling critiques like Jesus. We accept what is true, ignore what is false, and stick to our mission. Secondly, I think we would do well to imitate the good thief in asking Jesus to remember us. In other words, we are called to depend completely on Jesus because he is God, he is the chosen one, he can save us from death and sin, and he can bring us to Paradise. Jesus remember me!

Live It: Reflect on the last time someone insulted or critiqued you. How did you react? How would you have preferred to react? What would relying completely on Jesus look like in that moment?