The five flaws of Jesus
THE FIVE FAULTS OF JESUS
First defect: Jesus does not have a good memory
On the cross, during his agony, Jesus heard the voice of the thief to his right:
“Jesus, remember me when you come with your Kingdom.” If it had been me, he would have replied: “I will not forget you, but your crimes have to be atoned for, at least, with 20 years in purgatory.” However, Jesus replies: «I assure you that today you will be with me in paradise». He forgets all the sins of that man. The parable of the prodigal son tells us that he, back in his father’s house, prepares in his heart what he will say: «Father, I sinned against heaven and before you. I no longer deserve to be called your son, treat me like one of your hired men.” But when the father sees him coming from afar, he has already forgotten everything; he runs to meet him, embraces him, leaving him no time to deliver his speech, and says to the servants, who are bewildered: “Bring the best dress and put him on, put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened steer, slaughter it, and let us eat and celebrate a feast, because this son of mine had died and has come back to life; he was lost and has been found.” Jesus does not have a memory like mine; he not only forgives, and forgives everyone, but even forgets that he has forgiven.
Second flaw: Jesus doesn’t know math
If Jesus had taken a math test, they might have failed. Its shows the parabole of the lost sheep. A shephard had one hundred sheep. One of them goes astray, and he immediately goes looking for her, leaving the other ninety-nine in the fold. When he finds her, he carries the poor creature on her shoulders. For Jesus, one equals ninety-nine, and maybe even more! Who would accept this? When it comes to saving a lost sheep, Jesus is not discouraged by any risk, by any effort.
Third defect: Jesus does not know logic
A woman who has ten drachmas loses one. So he lights the lamp to look for her. When she finds it, she calls her neighbors and tells them: “Rejoice with me, because I have found the coin that she had lost.” It’s really illogical to bother her friends just for a drachma! And then throw a party to celebrate the find! And besides, by inviting her friends, she spends more than a drachma! Not even ten drachmas would be enough to cover the expenses…
Jesus, at the conclusion of that parable, reveals the strange logic of his heart: «I tell you that, in the same way, there is joy among the angels of God for a single sinner who converts».
Fourth defect: Jesus is an adventurer
A company’s publicity manager or a candidate for election prepares a detailed program, with many promises. Nothing like Jesus. His propaganda, if judged with human eyes, is doomed to fail. He promises to whoever follows processes and persecution. To his disciples, who have left everything for him, he does not assure them food or lodging, but only to share his same way of life. To a scribe eager to join his kin, he replies: “Foxes have holes, and birds of the sky have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.”
The evangelical passage of the beatitudes, a true “self-portrait” of Jesus, adventurer of the love of the Father and of his brothers, is a paradox from beginning to end, although we are used to hearing it:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit…, blessed are those who mourn…, blessed are those persecuted by… justice…, blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and rejoice, for your reward will be great in heaven.”
But the discipules trust on that adventurer. For more than two thousand years and until the end of the world, the group of those who have followed Jesus has not been exhausted. Enought with see the all time saints. Many of them are part of that blessed association of adventurers. No address, no phone, no fax…!
Fifth defect: Jesus does not understand finances or economics
Let us remember the parable of the workers in the vineyard: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a landlord who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He then went out about nine and about noon and about three and about five…, and sent them to his vineyard». In the evening, beginning with the last and ending with the first, he paid each one a denarius.
If Jesus were appointed administrator of a community or director of a company, those institutions would go bankrupt: how is it possible to pay someone who starts work at five in the afternoon a salary equal to that of someone who works from dawn? Is it an oversight, or has Jesus done the math wrong? Nope! He does it on purpose, because he explains: “Is it that I can’t do what I want with mine? Or is your eye going to be bad because I’m good?”
And we have believed in love
But let us ask ourselves: why does Jesus have these defects?
– Because it is Love. Authentic love does not reason, does not measure, does not raise barriers, does not calculate, does not remember offenses and does not set conditions.
Author: Cardinal Francisco Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan
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