It Should Have Been Me

Mark 15:11; Matthew 27:21; and John 18:40

The stage had been set.  Pilate was trying to find a way to get the burden of what to do with Jesus off of his shoulders.  The crowds were pushing him into a corner.  Pilate even is being pressured by his wife begging him of the innocence of Jesus.  Pilate in a last ditch effort tries to find a way out he offers up to the crowd an option.  He will give the crowd an option to release one of two prisoners he has before him.  Take either Jesus or a notorious bandit and prisoner named Barabbas.   Barabbas was apparently a well known prisoner.  There would be no way they would choose Barabbas over Jesus to be set free.

But to Pilate’s surprise the crowd kept yelling, “Give us Barabbas, give us Barabbas”  So as you know, Barabbas was set free and in his place Jesus was crucified.

I’ve often wondered what happened to Barabbas the moments after he was released.  Did he run and hide.  Did he go back to his old ways?  Did he hide in the shadows and watch the remainder of the Crucifixion story play out? Did he ever look back and tell himself, that should have been me?

Anytime there is a major tragedy either in our lives or one that publicly affects an entire nation, we will inevitably hear stories of individuals that for some reason or another took a last second turn, got held up in traffic, decided to stop and get coffee or donuts only to find out that this short change in their normal plans or direction ended up keeping them from being right in the middle of a major disaster. I know that it is a whole other discussion around those that are caught up in these events and are not so lucky, but those that experience this situation often are left for the rest of their lives asking that agonizing question, why me?

Hundreds of stories like this have been related to 9/11.  One in particular that I’d like to point out comes from Mr. Scheibner (see the video link below).  He was an American Airlines pilot that was actually scheduled to pilot AA flight 11 on 9/11.  He at the last second was bumped by a pilot that was senior to him.

http://www.youtube.com/user/peterscheibner?v=cLj4akmncsA&lr=1

There are so many different responses people that go through these situations pull together in order to try to understand, why me?

Some, as Mr. Scheibner noted, have the “I’m living on borrowed time” mentality, having had to look the reality of life squarely in the eye and now live every moment as if it were your last.

Sometimes there is a sense that there is unfinished business left to do and the motivation and sense of urgency drives one harder to find and finish that task.

For some they are not sure why God allowed several circumstances to happen that led to them still being alive today.  In some cases they realize “maybe it is not that God has something special left for me to do, but that I just need to keep on doing what I’m doing.”  Living and trusting.

No matter what the situation people that have these “Why Me Moments” all face with that inner force driving them to take a closer look at who they are, what value they bring to this world and what their purpose in life really is.  What is that driving thing that keeps them alive, keeps them going.  That helps them realize the gift of life that they have been given and causes them to ask, how can I now make the most of what they have been given.  They are moments that either puts life into perspective for them or really unsettles them.

I know these moments are very real.  Why does it take moments like this to open our eyes to help us realize the value we have been given to live, to love, to impact the lives of others.  What is keeping us from having “Why Me Moment” now?