Today’s Readings: Psalm 30; Numbers 13:1-3, 21-30; Luke 23:56b-24:11; Ephesians 4:17-24; Psalm 33
For two years, I worked as an outreach worker and community educator with the HIV/AIDS program at my local health district in Washington State. Part of my duties there included working in an outreach center located in the heart of the city. During my time at the outreach center, I worked with a variety of people: the homeless, commercial sex industry workers, IV drug users – you name the population, and I worked with them. Out of all the people I ran into, I remember one best of all. The individual I remember was a 17 year old boy whom I’ll call him Brad. Brad was homeless and living under one of the local bridges. He was wrestling with drug and alcohol addictions as well. To say Brad had issues would be a huge understatement. One day Brad showed up with a 13 year old girl - whom I’ll call Amy - in tow. Now 13 year old girls living on the streets of the city were some of the most vulnerable people out there. It would have been so easy for Brad to have exploited Amy. And yet what did Brad do? He protected her and brought her into the outreach center so she could get connected with folks who would look out for her and get her help. Through Brad's act of love and grace I had an encounter with someone I least expected in that setting; I had an encounter with the Spirit of Christ. I don’t know why I should have been surprised. After all, during his lifetime Jesus had a habit of showing up at times and places when we least expected him. That day at the outreach center I was like the women at the tomb in today’s Gospel reading from Luke. I had a very specific idea of where I thought Jesus should be. In their case, they expected Jesus to be in the tomb; in my case, I expected Jesus to be in predictable (i.e. socially acceptable) places. If today’s scripture teaches us anything, it’s never to put the essence of Jesus in a box. Today, I would encourage you to head out into the world with your eyes wide open. If you do that, you just might encounter the Spirit of Christ in places you might least expect. Til next time…
For two years, I worked as an outreach worker and community educator with the HIV/AIDS program at my local health district in Washington State. Part of my duties there included working in an outreach center located in the heart of the city. During my time at the outreach center, I worked with a variety of people: the homeless, commercial sex industry workers, IV drug users – you name the population, and I worked with them. Out of all the people I ran into, I remember one best of all. The individual I remember was a 17 year old boy whom I’ll call him Brad. Brad was homeless and living under one of the local bridges. He was wrestling with drug and alcohol addictions as well. To say Brad had issues would be a huge understatement. One day Brad showed up with a 13 year old girl - whom I’ll call Amy - in tow. Now 13 year old girls living on the streets of the city were some of the most vulnerable people out there. It would have been so easy for Brad to have exploited Amy. And yet what did Brad do? He protected her and brought her into the outreach center so she could get connected with folks who would look out for her and get her help. Through Brad's act of love and grace I had an encounter with someone I least expected in that setting; I had an encounter with the Spirit of Christ. I don’t know why I should have been surprised. After all, during his lifetime Jesus had a habit of showing up at times and places when we least expected him. That day at the outreach center I was like the women at the tomb in today’s Gospel reading from Luke. I had a very specific idea of where I thought Jesus should be. In their case, they expected Jesus to be in the tomb; in my case, I expected Jesus to be in predictable (i.e. socially acceptable) places. If today’s scripture teaches us anything, it’s never to put the essence of Jesus in a box. Today, I would encourage you to head out into the world with your eyes wide open. If you do that, you just might encounter the Spirit of Christ in places you might least expect. Til next time…
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