Everyday Jesus

Its always interesting when inspiration strikes...and its also interesting how long it takes for some ideas to gestate. About three weeks ago, I got up early on a Saturday morning and hopped in the car to go to Focus In The Field. Its been an annual pilgrimage for Rachel and I for a few years back when we were dating. Then, when we got married, interest in the event kind of died down and it wasn't an official gathering for a few years. This year, it came back big, so I knew I had to go. However, with Brayden, Rachel was unfortunately unable to join me in my 500 mile trek in the deathtrap. Some irrelevant background information.

I left home at a little before 5:30 on Saturday. It was a little bit rainy, but the majority of the storms were not over Wooster when I left. However, it was still a little bit drizzly when I arrived in Ashland and decided to stop for breakfast at McDonalds. As I entered the seating area, I was a little bit surprised to see someone else there. At 5:50 on a rainy Saturday morning, you don't really expect to see anyone other than people that have to be somewhere. However, this morning, there was an Amish man sitting at a table in the corner of the dining area, working on a cup of coffee.

I'm not really sure what it was about the man, but for some reason, I had a very strong feeling of Christ's presence while I was sitting there, eating my breakfast. I briefly debated conversing with the man, as it almost seemed as though he were waiting for something. I was going to offer him a ride to wherever he needed to go. I had more than 200 miles to go, but I could certainly spare 20 minutes to take him around town. However, my car is not exactly conducive to providing taxi service and I wondered if he would still be grateful for a ride after the fact. As I was finishing up, he got up and walked out of the dining area. I left only a minute or two later and as I drove around the restaurant to leave, I could see no sign of the Amish man. He literally vanished into the pre-dawn gloom.

For much of the rest of the drive, I turned over in my head whether or not I should have offered him a ride, or at least had some sort of conversation with him. The other image that I turned over in my head was whether we might find Jesus collecting himself in the quiet of an early morning fast-food joint. Perhaps it was a weekly ritual for the man, reflecting on the week before the hustle and bustle of travelers impinged upon his little sanctuary.

Regardless of the underlying reason for the man's presence, I started thinking about Everyday Jesus. Its taken me a little over 3 weeks to allow my thoughts to marginally congeal into a blog, but the concept of Everyday Jesus has stayed with me. Really, what it boils down to is how we live on a daily basis. I realize that this is kind of a fundamental tenant of Christanity (albeit one that seems to get lost in the noise of evangelism and other more boisterous behavior), but its good to be reminded of it from time to time.

I was reminded that morning that I really need to take time to digest my experiences occasionally. Whether that means, going to McDonalds at 5:30 and reflecting over a cup of coffee for an hour, or taking a solitary weekend retreat every couple of months, I realized that its something that I don't allow myself (and a lot of people don't). We're too caught up in the moment, too busy experiencing life's highs and lows, reading, fellowshipping, etc., that we forget that we need to take time to see how God is working (or even be grateful for how He's working).

The other thing that the Everyday Jesus phrase encompassed for me was to be a stranger servant. I felt really convicted for not offering the Amish man a ride after he left. I have no idea where he was going; for all I know he works at one of the hotels nearby (the Amish in Ashland are of a much lower order than a lot of those from Holmes County, so I don't know what their employment status is). But he could have also had a long journey in the drizzly darkness. We as a society are too afraid of strangers. I don't think I know anyone who has offered assistance to a stranger, later to find out that the person they had helped was a dangerous person (aside from Adam, I think he picked up a hitch-hiker who had been convicted of Felonious Assalt, but Adam doesn't really count because he's had lots of interesting life experiences; like the day he called off work because he had died the night before...true story). The majority of people are still good and when they're in a vulnerable situation, they're likely to be even more grateful for assistance.

I read a post recently about why people have had such a strong reaction to 9/11. The comment was an off-hand remark about society by a person who has no official official qualification in that regard. However, I found the statement to be quite true. Essentially what he said was that our society has become so reliant on other people (be it the military for protection, TV for opinions, etc), that it is helpless in the face of trauma. My sister-in-law made a similar comment about the solution for problems that the people in her community faced was to call an "expert". I've actually been thinking a lot about what it means to be an expert as well, but I'll keep that for another post. My thought is that the reason our society seems so helpless is that no one is sticking out their neck for anyone else.

Mainstream news tells us that there is a lot to be afraid of when it comes to helping others. Are we too afraid of the litigious nature of our society to be of service to our fellow countrymen? I've seen a lot of jokes made about people being sued for attempting to help someone who either didn't want to be helped or was in some way injured as a result of the assistance. However, I think there is some truth to that, although I can't provide concrete proof of precedence. Are we afraid of the serial killers that roam our highways, waiting for someone to fall into their trap? That man standing on the side of the road, next to his old pick-up truck could actually just be waiting for some unsuspecting good Samaritan to stop by, so he can bundle them up and keep them in his basement dungeon for all of eternity. Really?

As a Christian, I often look at the New Testament and see all of the miracles that Jesus worked. Huge miracles; feeding thousands with a loaf of bread and a few fish; turning water into wine. The list of spectacles goes on. The thing that the New Testament does not explicitly portray is what Jesus (and his disciples and other followers) did on a daily basis. With good reason, as its hard enough to get people to read the Bible as it is...can you imagine reading it if it detailed every day of Jesus' life? From a theological standpoint, Everyday Jesus is probably as shallow a concept as they come. Jesus is a historical figure, not active in the Modern Church, that's the work of the Spirit. However, Everyday Jesus provides a model for us to live by.

I think that as a Mennonite, its easiest for me to relate to modeling a servant heart and spending time reflecting on life's events instead of some of the other popular Christian lifestyle models. The following statements probably run perpendicular to the intent of my post, but Evangelism is a downright scary prospect to me (and I would almost go as far as to call it Unchristian...but not quite). All people are flawed, and for an evangelical person to call out a non-believer (or an individual who has strayed from the faith), that person will be judged for every place where they've fallen short of glorifying God. God doesn't judge that person, but the non-believer can see right through a person who talks, but doesn't live it. As a servant, you deny yourself (but don't deny that you're flawed), which hopefully opens meaningful dialogue. A servant does not single out a non-believer, but instead caters to those in need.

I've derailed a little bit, but most of all, I feel convicted. I've been in several situations in recent years where I had the opportunity to serve someone and have not taken the opportunity. Likewise, I spend my time on meaningless busywork instead of taking time to reflect on the blessings that God has given me. I have much growing to do...