February 19, 2025
This morning, while scrolling on social media, a post from a former high school classmate filled my feed. Her post reminded me of the modern axiom (attributed to Charles Swindoll) that says, “Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% of how you react to it.”
In this morning’s daily devotions from the Revised Common Lectionary, we hear of a time when Jesus encountered a group of Pharisees, Scribes, and Lawyers with whom He had harsh words. Luke’s gospel account begins the story this way:
“As Jesus was speaking, one of the Pharisees invited him home for a meal. So he went in and took his place at the table. His host was amazed to see that he sat down to eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony required by Jewish custom. Then the Lord said to him, “You Pharisees are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and wickedness! Fools! Didn’t God make the inside as well as the outside? So clean the inside by giving gifts to the poor, and you will be clean all over.”
Criticism is hard. Change is hard too; especially when it disrupts our systems and ways of being. Jesus was a disrupter and change agent—sent by God the Father, of course. He and his reforms were the 10% of what was happening in Galilee & Judea. How the Pharisees and teachers of religious law responded to his words and actions was the 90%. Luke’s gospel tells us how they responded. It wasn’t well. Luke 11:53–54 concludes the narrative and lesson. Luke wrote:
“As Jesus was leaving, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees became hostile and tried to provoke him with many questions. They wanted to trap him into saying something they could use against him.”
As with everything in life, how we choose to respond to what happens to and around us in life, is up to us. We can either respond with grace, patience, understanding, and love; or respond as did the Pharisees. We can either complain about what’s happening or seek God and ask him to guide our thoughts, words, and actions.
Here’s my 2 cents, for whatever it’s worth: It’s more fleshy and easy to complain, make excuses, and be hostile; but it’s another to be like Jesus: to speak the truth in love, and respond with grace, love, patience and understanding — if we must respond at all. Personally, I want to be more like Jesus, even when it’s not easy. Amen.
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