Buzzword - It's Not Fair! - From the time we learned to talk, the phrase "It's not fair" has been standard for all and sundry. As children we complained "It's not fair"! As adolescents, the same grievance is uttered; and, in adulthood, it is no different as we question the hand life deals us with questions such as - "Why me"? Today's readings deal with this apparent unfairness in life.
Jeremiah 20:78-9: - Jeremiah, one of the great complainers of history, does not mince his words - he has been had! God has not played fair, and he, Jeremiah has had as much as he is going to take! With what result? He backs off as he sees a deeper purpose at work in the demands being made of him.
Romans 12: 1-2: - Here Paul is encouraging the Romans to understand that Christian discipleship leads them to a deeper understanding of life and its ultimate purpose. Christian commitment asks that we evaluate life not only in terms of the present, mundane values, but in terms of spiritual transformation enabling us to know what it is God wants, and why He wants it.
Matthew 16: 21-27: - Christ warns the Apostles that the day of reckoning must come - that His mission can only be fulfilled through death. He must go up to Jerusalem for the final confrontation. Peter argues that there must be another way; Christ assures him that there is not.
Point 1: There is no doubt that there are times when one feels justified in thinking that all things are not equal! That there are times when it appears that life is distinctly unfair. For some, their hardest efforts appear futile; they do not seem to get the breaks, whilst, for others, to all intents and purposes, life is a cruise. Others, after years of work and wise management, arrive at a point where they feel they can ease off, sit back and together enjoy the fruits of the efforts, only to be cut off. Endlessly we hear the question - "Why does God permit it"? Natural disasters wreaking havoc on the innocent always give rise to questions about the fairness of God. There are many other areas of living which cause us to grumble and feel badly done by - being saddled with a culture that, for the most part, we have not been consulted on; asked to serve a God who seems remarkably reluctant to let us know exactly what He has in store for us; a God who gives us the splendid gift of life and warns that He may also take it away without notice. It is easy to become angry and to echo the words of Dylan Thomas -"Do not go gently into that night. Rage, rage against the failing light". But, rage though we may, it will happen with or without our cooperation; and so we must settle down and be realistic about our work and responsibilities.