Jesus said, 'To what then will I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the market-place and calling to one another,"We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not weep." For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, "He has a demon"; the Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, "Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax-collectors and sinners!" Nevertheless, wisdom is vindicated by all her children.
I can envision Jesus in the midst of the people...then and now...gazing at them with a keen understanding that whatever he does or doesn't do, they will be capable of gritching and grousing...their lower lips stuck out like petulant children who say: Hey, what about me?
Children go through a phase of perception when they believe that they are literally the center of the world. If they think a thought or utter a wish, they really do believe that the universe will shift in compliance with their desire. In like fashion...if they say "no!" they expect everything to "halt!" according to their command.
Thankfully, most children learn from some benevolent, patient people that life doesn't work that way...but there will always be some "grown ups" who haven't grown "out" of that myopia.
I guess we are all capable of slippage...why just a few days ago my lower lip was out so far I almost tripped over it!
Life is variable. Joy and sorrow, pain and pleasure all ebb and flow. Because of our humanity, we hunger to be noticed... we want our situation to be resolved (if it is painful)or when something phenomenal happens, we want somebody to pat us on the back. But most days, whether we are dancing with glee or weeping with grief, the majority of the world simply doesn't count our situation as worthy of much attention. Hey, what about me? And at that question, the compassionate radar screen becomes very, very narrow.
So, how do I manage my preoccupation with "me"? By letting it go!
I know that God IS interested...keenly interested...in the desires and concerns, as well as the waves of joy, that ebb and flow in my heart. As I walk through the world of my day Christ is there with me, laughing and weeping with me. I know that this intimacy has an intention: this divine companionship is given to fill me with a sense of wholeness...completion. And this intimacy is given so that I will be equipped to serve others.
When I am rigidly fixated upon my deficits or my desires, it may appear that abundance has been diverted to somebody or some place else. It may seem that I have been short changed. I may strive selfishly to ease my own "need". But when I shift my intention to simply "being with Christ", His amazing presence fills me abundantly with the joy, peace, and wholeness of God.
I don't need to wrangle with the question: What about me? It is known by God, and answered by God in ways I could never articulate. The question I am to ask at all times and places is "What about YOU?" "How can my time with you, whether it is a moment or an hour, be a blessing for YOU?"
Rooted in that wisdom, life is filled with new possibilities!
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