“Remain in Me…

It has happened to me several times.  I have read a novel, thoroughly enjoyed it – clear, concise writing, artistic description, unique character development with an intriguing plot. I want more, so I read all the works of that particular author.  Still, I am left hoping there will be more.

I feel the same about scripture. The parables, Luke’s telling of Jesus and those he encounters:  the woman caught in adultery, Samaritan woman at the well, prodigal father and son, the crippled woman in the synagogue, Zacchaeus, Bartimaeus, Lazarus, Martha, Mary, Joseph and Mary, foreigners, marginalized, lame and sick – to name a very few. A very few. Jesus is the focus of all of these encounters.  They reveal the kind of man Jesus was. Jesus comfortably related to men, women, children, strangers – to all. Usually gentle, kind, sensitive, hospitable, merciful and forgiving. Jesus never hesitated to approach the other. Jesus was a decent and loving man. Jesus undoubtedly had a strong personality. Jesus could be forceful and challenging.

Still, I want to know “the rest of the story”. What happened to those people? How or did their personal encounter with Jesus change their lives? Other than obvious physical changes, were they perceptively different?  Did their families, friends, communities notice and remark on any changes in their personalities or behaviors?  Did they, themselves, notice an interior transformation? I wonder.

I wonder about me.  I have encountered this kind, gentle, loving Jesus in the faces and behaviors of others. During the COVID shutdown, when all were hesitant to be in physical contact with others, I fell and could not get up. A kind woman  came to my aid.  Without hesitation, she bent down, gently helped me up.  She held my hands in both of hers until I was stable. I thanked her for her gracious assistance.  I was so shaken, I forgot to ask her name.  It no longer matters. She remains nameless, but I will never forget her. Her kindness influences me regularly. Do I hesitate to help a stranger?  Do I hesitate to reach out to another in need?  Gratefully, I am very much aware when I do and when I do not.

I can say, because of this particular encounter with Jesus, in that woman, “…I have been changed for the better, I have been changed for good”.(song: For Good, musical: Wicked)

If all of our individual, personal encounters with Jesus were recorded, “… I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written”. (John 21:25)

“… as I remain in you.”