What’s Next?

This morning when I was thinking about what to reflect on in this week’s edition, what came to mind was a program on CBC T.V. that I watched when I was quite young―perhaps I was 10 years old so; perhaps a little older or a little younger.  In any case, the details are rather fuzzy.  The thing I remember about the program was the ending.  The protagonist (I don’t think it would be appropriate to call him the hero) was determined to catch some people who had been behaving in an improper way (I don’t remember the particular issue but it was not something seriously bad).  They were using an escape route to avoid the authorities.  The protagonist thought he had them where he wanted them.  He was waiting for them at the other end of this escape route.  However, they became aware of the trap that had been set up and went another way.  The programs ended with the protagonist waiting for them to fall into him trap.  The audience knew what he didn’t; they would not be caught; at least not this time. 

I believe that this was etched in my memory as my father, who was a great fan of the CBC (as I am), declared that this was the difference between good ‘Canadian” drama and the programs you see on American TV where everything was wrapped up in a nice neat bow.  It was left to the imagination of the audience to decide what would happen next. 

This came to mind partly because of the Gospel reading from yesterday, John 18:33-37. It turned out that the Gospel passage in the missal (the book of scripture readings and collects) ended before it should have.  In the passage, Jesus is before Pilot and being questioned by him about what kind of a king Jesus was (we were celebrating Christ the King Sunday).  The passage ends with the phrase, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”  However, due to an editing error, the passage in the book ended after ‘testify’.  In effect the passage read, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify”. 

The question is then, “what is it that Jesus testifies to?”  I think that would be different for each of us.  What is Jesus testifying to in your life?  Perhaps if you are an atheist, it is just that he was a wise man and a good story teller.  If you are a Muslim, you would believe that he is a prophet.  However, if you are a Christian and believes that he is the only anointed son of God the Father, or some part of that belief, what is it that Jesus testifies to you in your life.

It is good to have open ended questions.  They don’t provide definite answers which can either be accepted of rejected.  It leaves it up to the individual to decide what it means for them as at this time in their life.  It will certainly change and be different at different points in your life; it certainly has been for me and continues to be.  That is why I particularly like the original ending of the Gospel of Mark.  The oldest manuscripts of the Gospel end a Mark 16:8, “So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”

The open-ended story is what each of us is living.  It opens us to possibilities that each day brings.  Sometimes they will fill us with terror and amazement and sometimes they will open the door to new possibilities.  What will Jesus testify to you today?

Blessings on your journey.