Undercover King

A Reflection on the Second Reading for Sunday, October 20th, 2024:
Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Hebrews
​4.14-16

​Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

About a decade ago, there was a popular reality TV show called Undercover Boss. The principle of the show was that the top bosses of companies would disguise themselves and work ground-level positions in the businesses they managed. Rich men and women who mostly hadn’t had to do any kind of menial labour for years would put on the trappings of lower middle class people and try jobs like cooking french fries, cleaning bathrooms, and various other customer service jobs.

The goal of these interactions was both to show the boss in question as a humble human like the rest of us, while also giving the boss insight into the lives of the employees they are tasked with training and guiding. In reaction to the stories of the hard-working people they encountered, they would pay off medical bills, connect them with educational support and training opportunities, and take on a more permanent mentoring role. There were also those moments when substandard managers were disciplined or fired, making way for healthier working environments for the staff.

It made for good TV – watching the rich and powerful struggle to do the most basic tasks of entry-level work provided some schadenfreude of course, but there were also heartwarming moments. There’s something about those stories that appeal to the human spirit – the humble being seen by the mighty, the lowly being raised up, the wicked being punished. If I work hard enough, maybe I’ll get caught doing good and be rewarded for my diligence.

But in the end, that’s an earthly, almost fairy tale perspective. Heroes win and villains lose. That isn’t really how our God operates. 

When Christ took on human flesh and dwelt among us, it wasn’t for the sake of good TV or a fantastical fairy tale. He wasn’t in disguise, but instead actually became one of us. It wasn’t a short sojourn but 33 long years of experiencing humanity at the cellular level. He didn’t pay for medical bills – He cured the sick. He didn’t reward the righteous – He called them into a deeper relationship with God. He didn’t punish the wicked – He called them to repent and gave them the means to do it. 

This week I learned that the root of the Hebrew word compassion (חֶמלָה) is the word for womb (רֶחֶם). Jesus’ compassion was so great that He bore it in His own flesh, just as a mother bears her child in her womb. That kind of love is almost beyond imagination. To be so deeply loved by God that He would take on our flesh. Jesus’ time on earth was marked by the human experience – He suffered, He felt grief, He was rejected, and He died. 

Jesus didn’t parachute in for a few days and observe. He didn’t need to be among us to know our entire soul, history, and motivation. He could have meted out whatever reward or punishment we deserved without putting on an elaborate show. Because His motivation wasn’t to learn about us, it was to save us. God loved us so deeply, He sent His son to dwell among us and die for our sin. His compassion for us was so great that He can came to redeem our entire world.




Stéphanie Potter​

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