He Knew Me
Excerpt from Hebrews 3:1-6
"So, my dear Christian friends, companions in following this call to the heights, take a good hard look at Jesus." (The Message)
Reflection by William C. Green
I can't take a good hard look at God, but I can take a good hard look at Jesus. The question of the historical accuracy of the gospels misses the point. These are testimonies to Jesus' impact, not scholarly records. Just as my way of speaking is not yours, Mark's is not John's. Moved by the same spirit, we respond differently.
What we're given to respond to is a strong sense that God is personally involved with us. The divine is human. The ultimate is intimate. What matters most is right at hand. Jesus discloses and embodies this in all he said and did.
Eleanor Roosevelt told of taking a taxi cab shortly after her husband's death. The driver said to her, "I didn't know Franklin Roosevelt, but he knew me." That is how Jesus' followers today feel about him. He can call us to the heights of faith because he knows the depths of pain and suffering. As the traditional gospel song puts it, "One day I was walking along, the sky opened up and love came down. Oh yes! Nobody knows the trouble I've seen, nobody knows but Jesus, Glory hallelujah!"
I didn't know Jesus, but Jesus knows me — and shows me that God is with us, too, wherever we are. Oh yes!
Prayer
Gracious God, as we get ready for Easter and the new life in store for us all, help me to be glad, all over again, for making yourself known in Jesus. Amen.
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