I worked last year part-time at a local YMCA after school program. My job basically consisted of making sure 5-35 kids stay safe, have fun, and don’t do things which might possibly make their parents angry. When all said and done, that can be quite a chore. However, between mediating disputes over Lego creations and getting beat at wall ball by 3rd graders, I realized how much there was to learn at my job. And not just about how to take care of kids, but how to love and serve both God and people.
One day, as I was standing watch on the playground amid the chaos that is 30 grade schoolers on a playground, I heard a commotion near the wall ball area. Kids were screaming and yelling and laughing, which usually meant that I should at least take a look and make sure all was well. When I got over there, I was shown I nice big puddle on the ground and informed by a few hysterical kids that one of the boys had peed his pants. And no, it was not an accident, but something he had informed everyone of ahead of time, and done in full view of as many other children as possible. I looked at the boy, standing proudly over his recent accomplishment. My boss, who had beaten me to the scene, soon ushered the boy inside, to change and have a nice, long time out. When we finally sat down and talked with him about why he did this, his answer spoke volumes to me about how we, as followers of Jesus, are supposed to live out the Gospel message in our communities and among hurting, broken people.
The boy, who we will call “Sam,” was playing wall ball, when another boy, “Dan,” started playing also. Sam was a 2nd grader, and Dan was a 1st grader. During the course of the game, it came to light, through the teasing of some other children, that Dan had peed his pants earlier in the day. So throughout the game, numerous comments were made about Dan’s accident, and most were not said kindly. Now, Sam and Dan are friends, and most of the children who were making fun of Dan were 2nd and 3rd graders. After some time of this teasing, Sam decides to stand up for his friend Dan, and in a moment straight out of the movie Billy Madison, he proceeds to pee his pants in order to make Dan feel better. When everyone around Dan was making fun of him and putting him down, Sam came over, stood beside him, and with very few words (other than yelling at all the kids to watch), he tangibly showed Dan that he was beside him.
As followers of Jesus in the midst of a hurting and broken world, this is exactly what we are called to do. All around us are people that are hurt, beat down by the world, and overwhelmed by the craziness of life. These are people on our streets, in our neighborhoods and communities, and in our churches. Living out the Gospel does not mean that we simply tell them all to believe in Jesus or pray a little more, but that we come beside them in loving, caring and tangible ways. We must love and serve them as we are serving Jesus himself. Think about what Jesus did when interacted with hurt and broken people. He got near them. He touched them. He talked with them. He asked them questions. Even when doing so broke all social and religious rules, he got near to them (John 4:1-26; Mark 2:13-17, etc.). He did not throw miraculous healing at them from a distance, but almost always healed by his touch, by being close to people.
Think about the women who had been bleeding for 12 years, and was “unclean” by the social and religious standards (Luke 8:40-56). The community that she was a part of would have excluded her, and according to their religious and social system, they would have been more than justified in doing so. Think about the story. After she had fought through a crowd of people in order to touch Jesus, what does he do? He calls her out. Now certainly everyone would know that an unclean women has been in the midst of them. They would know that she had been in the midst of the crowd, touching who knows how many people. Yet, what does Jesus do? He calls her out, letting everyone know that someone touched him. He heals her. And he heals her in more than one way. Yes, he heals her physically, which is a miracle, but he also heals her in a much more communal way, restoring her, and showing that she has a place within the community. That is so beautiful. And Jesus did this, not by a long speech or an exposition of the theological reasons that she should be accepted, but by standing beside her in her pain and suffering. Jesus was well aware of the social and religious reasons that she was not accepted, yet he stood with her anyway.
As people who follow Jesus and seek to live his Gospel out in or daily lives, we must learn, as individuals and communities, how to practice standing with those whom no one else will stand with. We cannot just stand with those we like, or those whose religions, social, and political views match our own. We can’t be afraid to stand with “sinners,” worried that we might seem accepting of their sin, or worse, called sinners ourselves. Jesus was called a sinner and a drunkard by the religious community of his day. What are we really worried about? Now this will not be easy, and we are all bad at this. Standing with hurt and broken people is hard. Yet it is such a vital part the this Gospel we are called to live out. So let’s begin to learn, together with our communities, how we can be people who “pee our pants” with those around us. And let us pray daily that God with give us the power and resources to do so, because without Him, we are hosed.
Take care and God bless.
Luke
