Jan
23rd
Wed
23rd
One of the local ministers in the Palisades is a dear friend of mine. Once when we were sharing computer frustrations he told me this story about Jesus and Satan and how one day they are having a “friendly discussion” as to which one of them would make a better computer programmer. This goes on for a few hours until they decide to hold a contest, with God as the judge.
So they sit down at their computers and begin. Furiously they type, lines of code streaming up the screen for hour after hour. Finally, just seconds before the competition is about to end, a bolt of lightning strikes, taking out all the electricity. Moments later, just as suddenly the power is restored, and God announces that the contest is over.
He asks Satan to show what he has come up with first. But Satan is visibly upset, and cries, “I have nothing. I lost it all when the power went out.”
”Very well, then,” says God, “let us see if Jesus fared any better.”
Jesus enters a command, and the screen comes to life in vivid display, the voices of an angelic choir pour forth from the speakers. Satan is astonished.
He stutters, “B-b-but how? I lost everything, and Jesus’ program is intact. How did he do it?”
God smiled all-knowingly and said, “Jesus saves.
— Rabbi Steven Carr Reuben from my rabbi’s sermon