John 11:6-17
In A.A. Milne's wonderful stories of Christopher Robin and his
friend, Winnie the Pooh, there is a character whose perspective is always a bit
cloudy. Eeyore, the donkey, always seems resigned to the worst outcome for
himself. In "Lessons From the Hundred Acre Wood," he offers these
words which seem to define his perspective; "A mostly sunny day, to some,
can look a lot like partly gray."
I think Thomas was a "partly gray" kind of guy. He
always seemed to ask the questions no one else wanted to ask or say what nobody
else was willing to say. Jesus tells his disciples that he is going to Judea,
partly to awaken his friend Lazarus who had just died, and more importantly, as
a stopover on his way to Jerusalem and the cross. The disciples remind Jesus
that he's not terribly popular there, in fact, he was almost stoned there!
Jesus, of course, persists, causing that partly gray guy, Thomas,
gloomily to declare, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” I
suppose there are several ways you could read this, but it has always seemed to
me that resignation marked Thomas' voice...the kind that embraces the negative
as the ever-clear choice.
Christ invites us to join him on the varied pathways of this
journey. It's easy to have a partly gray perspective, resigned to expect the
worst, but Jesus ultimately encourages his followers, even the Thomases among
us, as he says, "In this world you will have trouble, but be of good cheer
for I have overcome the world." That hope can make even the partly gray
among us become partly sunny.
Prayer: Help us to gain a perspective, Lord, that helps us trust
you, wherever you lead. Amen.
Jim Abernathy
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