And when He rose from the dead, nobody congratulated Christ of His Mother for the achievement of the Son of Man in saving the world...
When my children were attending their previous primary school, the school had an awards ceremony at the end of each year, around Christmas time, where they would award the children in the school for their achievements.
The very first year that the awards were given, I got myself to the school for the award ceremony – having been told that my children would receive an award – and then on the day I discovered that all the children in the school received an award during that ceremony.
I remember speaking with one of the other mothers about this on the day. She was of the opinion that it was ridiculous to award every single child because that devalued the award itself and there would be nothing to congratulate the child for.
And while I understand her perspective (both then and now) I am not sure that she is correct. You see, for some children they will not achieve awards during their life. They might finish second rather than first and not be acknowledged for their achievements again. For some children, this would be their only opportunity to receive acknowledgement of anything related to their efforts in this lifetime.
And I have been reflecting on that. You see, as humans we crave acknowledgement and recognition. It seems to be somehow inbuilt into our psyche. We are sort of programmed to crave a congratulations every now and again.
And I have been thinking about this today as I have been thinking about my Beloved.
Christ came to the Earth in silence and quietly. The Angels rejoiced and sent the shepherd and the three Magi to pay homage to the infant God – but they were not His people. There were no Jewish high priests at the birth of Christ. There were no dignitaries or royalty. Nobody came and gave the Blessed Virgin an award or even acknowledgement as the Mother of God. Nobody came and took her onto a stage and gave her a certificate or a trophy or a medal to commemorate the occasion.
Instead, the God-Child and His Mother and Foster Father lived in poverty. They were unrecognised and unacknowledged. They did not receive awards, accolades or even any great encouragement. They lived simple and humble lives.
There were no congratulations for the Son of Man. There was instead for the most part, curiosity, resentment, jealousy and misunderstanding. Of the thousands who He had healed, none (or perhaps just a small few) stood with Him at the Foot of the Cross. Of the hundreds who had followed Him, all deserted Him.
In the moment when He defeated Sin through His death – and saved the world – there was no award or accolade and no congratulations for Him.
Well – nobody on Earth did any of those things. But there were great congratulations in Heaven.
And I have been thinking about that today – because when it seems that nobody acknowledges my efforts on Earth, I must be sure to remember that my only acknowledgement should actually be in Heaven anyway…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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