Jesus, open our eyes to see as you see and our hands
to touch as you touch. Call forth the
very center of our hearts and let us feel your love surging from our being. Made like you, show us how to act the
same. Amen
I’ve done many sermons from the voice
of someone involved in the story; and, this time there are many someone’s. So I will speak on behalf of the crowd; and,
just maybe, on behalf of all of us.
We streamed on and on, miles
of us it seemed, all waiting to see this man named Jesus. We would have waited for days; and some of us
did. It was more curiosity than respect at this point; and, desperation for
many. Among us were those paralyzed from birth, those
blinded by accidents and those who could not hear. Some could not speak, some chose not to—their
stories too painful to utter aloud. They
said he could heal; let’s see it. Before
we were aware of what was happening, people were being changed—healed—just by
the touch of his hand or a word from his mouth.
All around a hush layered
over us like fog on a lake; the awe rolled in; clouds before the storm of
rejoicing. Hour upon hour, he touched
them into wholeness, awaking our spirits with each utterance of “I’m healed!” How could it be that he loved each one enough
to heal them? We couldn’t explain it if
we tried. At least, it felt like love: pure, unboundless love. Surely, this must be the love of God, living
and healing amongst us. Surely this was
what pure praise sounds like when one drops to their knees and says, “I’m
healed.” The hours went on with scores
of people coming forward to be within his reach. Finally, no more in need of healing could be
found.
Thinking the day was done,
we turned to go, hungry for food, Weary from standing all those hours. We had no expectations of anything else and
so we headed for our homes—new people with new minds, but old stomachs which
rumbled with hunger as we gathered our things. Suddenly, someone said “Stop!”,
he isn’t finished. We sat as he
commanded and waited. Suddenly, baskets
of bread and fish began to appear—we ate our fill, but we could not out eat all
that was served. Not that we didn’t try,
oh, no, we tried all right. Something
happened to us as we ate that fish. It
wasn’t just fish and bread, it was a miracle.
This Jesus, so different
already, so open and caring, He hadn’t been finished with us.
He noticed we were hungry, why that didn’t take much
sense, we’d been there for hours. No one
thought it would be that long, so we foolishly brought nothing, but He wasn’t
finished with us. So noticing turned to caring and caring to doing. We chatted among ourselves, now fully
satisfied spiritually and physically, and wondered about this man Jesus. The feeling of love still flowed strongly so,
amazingly, we listened to each other without interrupting. We let each other have their have their ‘say’
and, then we thought about it.
Old
Zeke, he thought that Jesus did it to show us how much God loved us. Rebe Josh said that it was more than
that. He believed that God sent Jesus to
show us how important it is to love each other.
Yes, that’s right. It was Rebe
Josh, who snuck out when none of the other priests were looking, because he wanted
to hear from this Jesus himself. Sister
Nora said, humbly, not wanting to offend the Rabbi, that she thought it was
about a way of living—a way that called us to notice first, and, then act. She had been near some of the disciples and
she heard them admit that they hadn’t even thought about the crowd. They knew they were hungry; and, that was
their focus. Jesus was the one who
noticed the needs of the crowd. Once
they thought about it, they knew he was right; but, they didn’t figure they had
any food, so it was every person for themselves. Sister Nora said that Jesus didn’t really
reprimand them; he just got them to figure out what to do. You know how Sister Nora can go on, and she
did…telling us about what it looked like up at the front of the crowd as the
food just started to appear—all because Jesus noticed and cared.
Little
Zeke, that was Old Zeke’s grandson, was about 15. He was a man in the Jewish tradition; but he
still had the curiosity of a child. He
said to the group of us, “I don’t get it.
How do you live a life where you always think about others? Aren’t we too busy making sure that our own
families are fed and have water and a roof over their heads. Little Zeke was getting ready to be married;
and, it seems he felt the need to be a “Man” who provides for his family the
way God commanded. Sister Nora thought a
moment and said, “It looks to me that we need to think about the way Jesus
lives to get that answer. I think that
you are right, Little Zeke, but it’s about seeing beyond what’s staring us in the
face.” About that time, a little old stooped over
woman, Bubi Ruth said, “this conversation is all well and good’ but, in case
you haven’t noticed, Jesus has left this place and most of the crowd is headed
for home. Can we talk and walk at the
same time. I’d like to be home before
dark.” Sister Nora, gathered up her
things and motioned to everyone else to gather theirs and they started back. But, they could not stop talking; the spirit
was so full among them that they just kept throwing out ideas and asking each
other questions.
Little
Zeke wanted Sister Nora to continue what she started and asked her what she
meant by how Jesus lives. Sister Nora
said, “You know, this is the third time I’ve seen him; and, I always want to
get close enough to get just a glimpse of him.
There’s something about his face that shows me that he is more about me
and all of the me’s in his sight, then he is about himself. And he’s not some sort of public martyr
play-acting his concern, he really cares.”
Rebe Josh says, I think the word you are looking for is compassion. He has compassion. “ Bubi Ruth suddenly looked up and said, “Rebe,
I’m an old woman and I might not have much time to figure this all out; so why
don’t you tell me just what this compassion looks like.”
Rebe
Josh put his arm around her and took the blanket she was carrying and carried
it himself. “We are so used to looking
at how things affect us that we fail to see the other person’s need. I’m embarrassed that I let you carry that
blanket even for a little while. I know
that it is hard for you to carry it and not very hard for me to add it to my
load; but, I have to be taught to pay attention, to notice. I think this man Jesus is showing us that we
need to get to the place where we understand that if you are hurting, I am
hurting, too. I think that this is the
hard part. You know, back in the
beginning of things, the Jewish people knew about creation and knew that they
had a special relationship with God. I
don’t know what this man Jesus may say about that special relationship, but I’m
sure that he would remind us our how we are connected together. Just like everybody calls Bubi Ruth here,
“Bubi” even though she isn’t everybody’s grandmother—not really, but we all
love her as if she were. We’re interconnected
and what hurts one, hurts another. I
haven’t thought about these things since I was young and trying to figure
things out. Now, I am older and know
that I better listen to this man Jesus if I want to grow into the life to which
I feel him calling me. This will require
much thinking and praying. “
A
new voice was heard. Sister Esther, who
is rather quiet and contemplative said, “God has been showing me this during my
prayers. I know that I never share with
any of you, but Jesus has given me courage.
God has been leading me to think about the way I have compassion for others. You know, my ability to not just put myself
in someone’s shoes in my head, but my willingness to actually, willingly be
there beside them walking in their shoes.”
I really didn’t get it until I saw Jesus today. That means that before I criticize someone, I
walk in their shoes. It means that if I
love my neighbor, I will not sit and eat my fill while they are hungry. It means I won’t spend time gossiping about
the little things when the big things need me so badly to care about them,
first. Am I getting it, Rebi?”
Rebe
Josh said, “Without a doubt you are getting it.
We are all getting it; or, at least we could if we let ourselves be
healed from our self-interest and our refusal to look beyond how we understand
things to hear from another. That’s my
goal this week—to hear from as many people as I can how they understand their
lives and what they might need. I want
to pay attention to the shoulders that look tense, or the eyes that won’t meet
mine. I want to see if I can get a
better idea of what Jesus is all about.
Thank you, each of you for sharing your insight with me. “ Sister Nora, too, said, “Yes, thanks,
together we came a lot farther in making sense of the day then we could have
alone. Oops, there’s my house. Love to you all.” They hugged and she went inside.
One by one, they left the
group; and, after seeing Bubi Ruth to her home the Rebe was all alone. He sat down.
And he prayed, and he smiled.
Amen and amen and Namaste
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