For They Shall Be Called...

Jesus is smarter than I am.

Of course what with Him being the Son of God and all, you’d expect Him to have an edge when it comes to spiritual things.

But I’m talking about common sense.

He has that too.

Case in point: Once when He was teaching spiritual things to a huge crowd, “there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people insomuch that they trode one upon another”.

Representatives of the Pharisees there began to urge Him vehemently and to provoke Him; they were, “laying in wait for Him, seeking to catch something out of His mouth that they might accuse Him”.

Even with all that going on, in the midst of that mob scene, Jesus was trying to tell folks about the Holy Ghost,. This is the place where Jesus taught that God knows every sparrow that falls (Reminds me that I need to clean the bird cage before any wedding guests show up) and that God numbers the very hairs on your head (Do I need to cut my hair before the ceremony or am I OK?).

So there was Jesus teaching spiritual things...

But one guy in the crowd interrupts saying, “Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me”.

Jesus was smarter than I am.

He refused to get involved.

“Man,” He said, “Who made me a judge or divider over you”?

Yes, Jesus refused to get enmeshed in a squabble over how to divvy up an inheritance.

He knew a can of worms when He saw one.

Not me.

I jump right in and try to mediate.

Yesterday, I tried to be a peacemaker in not one, but four disputes among family and neighbors. No I did not seek these occasions out, but when people presented me with their problems, I offered sympathetic advice.

Jesus would have known better.

One dispute involved living arrangements. The lady saw me working in my front yard and came over bitching and moaning. Her first words to me were, “It’s a mess. It’s a mess. It’s a real mess!”.

It was.

Another dispute boiled into my front yard as one neighbor complained that another left a borrowed lawnmower out in the rain and got water in the gas tank.

I, you understand, am personally involved in none of this.

I’m just cleaning my yard in preparation for my daughter’s wedding tomorrow.

But no sooner had I finished mowing my own grass, than the phone rang: a. dispute over dividing an inheritance.

A bunch of phone calls followed. People were practically stepping on eachother.

All I wanted to do was rake leaves.

Not being as smart as Jesus, I tried to make peace between the warring factions as they talk of police involvement, court hearings, lawyers, and subpoenas.

I have nothing to do with any of this — but guess who ended up talking with a cop last night and guess who everyone is upset with.

Then here comes a guy claiming one of my daughters owes his company money and he wanted me to give him her address and phone number.

He really got upset when I refused.

I do not give any caller such information about any of my daughters. He claimed he was from a credit collection agency but all he is to me is a voice on the phone. If he doesn’t even know she no longer even lives in Jacksonville, then he’s no friend of hers.

When I refused to divulge any information, he became more demanding.

That made me a bit snippy.

“Look,” I said. “I do not own your company a penny. There’s no reason to call me. Ever. My daughter is a grown woman almost 30 years old and she handles her own affairs. And, No. I will not take your name and number for her to call you back. And I will not tell her you called. I am not a messenger service”.

Wet lawnmower guy.

Disputed inheritance people.

Living arrangements lady

Bill collector.

Ain’t nobody loves me this morning.

Seems everyone I talked to is upset with me.

But I’d only tried to make peace because on some level I care about all five of these people who contacted me (except for the bill collector phone guy who can go to Hell as far as I’m concerned).

I’ve managed to offend everybody.

Oh well, as the Scripture says, Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God — Among other things.

Bye now. I’m going to clean the bird cage.

Ginny’s bird appreciates me.

Even though he bites.