power

'And you become a monster, So the monster will not break you'--U2 in 'Peace on Earth

Power--if you have it you'd better keep it...at any cost. Israel, Rome, Pontious, Caiphus, Herod, 'got it'.You go in hard...you set yourself up...and you build a snowfort...you wall your country in with a huge rock wall... you make alliances...you compromise your heart...

You put a fence up at the entrance of the neighborhood...you patrol the community and pull over any 'questionable' persons...you pay people to do that for you...or they pay you and you do it...you don't look anyone who's mistreated in the eye...lest you see them...

Religion, cliques, systems, 'get it'.

You hang out with people 'like you' and build an infastructure of other successful folks...you pat each other on the back...you manage your risk...you eliminate your threats...you judge others and label them...you don't touch the 'lepers'...lest you become one...and then no one will touch you...you create a religion that says you are blessed...so you can justify your greed...and they will come...to hear 'the gospel'...so they can be like you...you build a religion that says take care of your own...so you won't have to care for others...and be OK with that...and everyone outside your boundary is 'other'...

You hedge your bets and don't risk your 'emotional portfolio'...in short, you become a monster...so the monster will not break you...nobody set out to be a monster, it happens slow with every fear laced self protecting decision...but you never, ever talk about it...and you pray...for 'peace on earth'...all the while hoping the earth doesn't 'come in' or get too close or need anything.

And you sell your self for 30 pieces and a pot of porridge.

Power...if you have it you had better keep it...at any cost...which of course begs the question...What was Jesus thinking? Jesus didn't succumb to 'power'.

The colonel says there are two types of people in the world, 'those who face the music and those who take cover'. Cover may be better if you can live with yourself. 'Become the monster so the monster will not break you'...take the last seat in the game of musical chairs. Don't fret about bumping your friend to the ground.

'Hope for the Flowers' is a children's book every adult should read. Written by Trina Paulis the book tells of a caterpillar named Stripe climbing on other caterpillers to reach the pinnacle of life. The top. A place where you can look down. A place where you can step on others. 'Everyone climbs' so it must be right--is the 'way of the caterpillar pillar'. At one point along the climb Stripe sees, locks eyes with, another climber.  He gets to know 'Yellow'. Near the top he is faced with the choice to bump Yellow to continue the climb or risk falling himself. He can't bump her. He could but he can't. He has this epiphany that says 'love is better than climbing'. He doesn't become the monster. He becomes the exception. He becomes in the end a butterfly. Transformed.

Exceptional is what Christ is. Exceptional is what Christians should ascribe to if they want to be like the master. 'Emptied' is what Christ became. He emptied himself and took on the form of flesh. He did that with forethought. He descended...gave up 'self' for us. Emptied is exceptional.

He could have become the monster but he refused, and as a result, He became the butterfly. Those who have should give to those in need is not just about generosity or compassion or even 'brother's keeper'. It is the way of the Christ in order to avoid the creation of monsters. We ignore the message and become something 'else', something ugly, something 'monsterly' glossed over and touched up by air brushed exteriors.

There is a reason why Christ does what He does, there is a method to the madness of what Jesus was 'up to'.