Do They Deserve It?

One of my favourite local stories this week involves a Norfolk distillery, whose single malt whisky was named the best in the world. Their English Sherry Cask whisky beat off competition from Scotland, Ireland and more than 40 other countries, at the World Whiskies Awards in London.

200 expert judges from around the world, assessing more than 1,500 different whiskies, decided that the English Distillery, based in Roudham, in the Breckland area of Norfolk, deserves this prestigious award.

Yesterday’s news was dominated by the container ship that crashed into the Baltimore bridge. Missing construction workers were named. The bodies of two victims were recovered from a pick-up truck found in the river…

The news then switched to Gaza with pictures of starving, undernourished children. It was suggested that Israel bore significant blame, and that it was possible that Israel was using starvation as a weapon of war…

Stories involved innocent victims receiving what they didn’t deserve.

Yesterday I heard of friends, good people, having ‘a well-earned and well-deserved’ Easter holiday.

I reflected on other friends – a wife, the sole carer for her demanding, disabled husband… a single man, struggling to make ends meet, who’s ex-wife won’t allow him to see his son, a mum, recovering from a hysterectomy, who’s escaped from an abusive marriage…

I wondered if those friends ‘deserve’ a holiday more… but won’t get one.

Tomorrow’s Good Friday. We shall remember Jesus’ crucifixion… the criminal crucified next to Jesus saying, ‘We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.’

Today’s Maundy Thursday. We remember Jesus’ final conversation: ‘I’m going away to prepare a place for you… I will leave you my Spirit… I’m leaving you my peace… This bread is my body, broken for you… This wine is my blood shed for you.’

It’s all about Jesus – who gets what he doesn’t deserve, so that his friends and followers don’t get what they deserve, but can receive what they don’t deserve.