Some Days are like that...

And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. And they bound Jesus and fled him away and delivered him over to Pilate. And Pilate asked him, j“Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him,“You have said so.” And the chief priests accused him of many things. And Pilate again asked him, “Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you.” But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed. Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked. And among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas. And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them. And he answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” For he perceived that pit was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. Mark 15:1-11

"I went to bed with gum in my mouth and now there's gum in my hair." On days like today, when I oversleep and have to rush out the door without coffee, I can't help but think of Alexander. We all have days that start out lousy and get worse, when everything piles up and nothing seems to break well. It all just breaks down. We sometimes, like Alexander, wish we could move to a far off place and start over. He suggested moving to Australia. But the truth is, there are bad days everywhere, and we who have family, friends and a home are blessed despite our circumstances. Alexander finally concluded that, "some days are like that, even in Australia." If you have never read Judith Viorst and her books for children (as well as for adults) she has much to say about living in our bodies and dealing with the grief and challenge we have before us. And she makes me laugh with understanding and compassion.

Jesus is having a pretty bad day. His friends have pretty much abandoned him, his grilling is cruel and unrelenting, and the crowd is vicious, wanting the release of an evil man rather than an innocent one. That's a bad day, by anyone's standards. And yet Jesus bore the worst the world could dish out, horrible, terrible things, awful suffering, because God took on flesh for the love of the world. God bore the worst the world could deliver so that we might know love unbounded. The body of Jesus was broken for us so that we might know healing and completeness in this very broken world.

Today, I give thanks for the love and laughter that rises above the terrible daily challenges, bringing moments of delight in the midst of even the hardest times. May we all remember that we are never alone on our worst days, and that God knows how bad it can get, and suffers with us as we strive to live and love.