I and Thou

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We will only settle for Encounters

Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?” And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, ‘Who touched me?’” He looked all around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”- Mark 5:30-34

The most anticipated word blared out from the obnoxious speakers: “Goaaal!”. It unleashed joyous dancing and screaming among the crowd and we were in the heart of it. There wasn’t much room to dance so everyone just jumped up and down. We were doing it as well, rather involuntarily. All our bodies were so pressed together that we had to follow the rhythm of everyone just to avoid falling to the ground and being trampled. Mary looked a little concerned, maybe even afraid. To think that all this was our idea. Wanderson stood behind us. He was the only teen that was willing to watch the game with us. I thought that it would be good for the children and teens to experience something different. They are always outsiders to all the public events in the city. I thought that they should not miss watching the public screening of the Brazilian team playing in the World Cup. It only happens once every four years. We invited all of the children but only Wanderson was willing to come. Now, I have my doubts. Vulgarities were heard all around. People were saying obscene things about the opponents. Sportsmanship was absent. Our homeless children look like model citizens compared to this lot. Maybe it is better for their souls to be outsiders to all these events.

Mary was not thinking about any of this. She was afraid that any moment now there would be a stampede. Half-time came and we decided that it is best for us to leave. Then came the tough part, navigating our way through bodies pressed together. It required lots of gentle pushing and burrowing through a mass of bodies. As I tried to make my way through the crowd, Wanderson grabbed hold of my hand and held it tightly. He was holding Mary’s hand in the same way. It took us a while but we finally made it through to the exit. Wanderson smiled and told us that he wasn’t that interested in the game anyway. However, he just wanted to come because we invited him.

Being in the middle of a rowdy crowd, just like in the gospel text. It is almost like I planned this event so that I could write about it. I did start the week thinking about the healing of the old woman. I wasn’t think about the crowd or being in a situation as such. My mind was on the woman. She pushed her way through the crowd to have the experience of healing. She wasn’t interested in the person of Jesus per se. He was just a means to an end. All she wanted was to be healed. She had a strong faith in the power of Jesus. So much so that she believed that anything close to His body was permeating with His healing power. This is quite an incredible faith. Unfortunately, it was still immature. It was childlike and childish at the same time. She only wanted to experience healing. Jesus was just a thing to her until Jesus opened the door for her to encounter Him.

There was another episode in the gospel of Luke where ten lepers were healed and only one came back to thank Jesus (Luke 17:11-19). To the one that came back Jesus said, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.” They were all healed from leprosy but only one was truly healed. All of them sought Jesus for healing but for the nine, Jesus was merely a means to an end. Only one saw Jesus as a Person. He was the only one who had a genuinely mature faith. The old woman was blessed in a way. Jesus did not allow her to follow the footsteps of the other nine. He wasn’t going to allow her to leave with a mere experience of healing. He wanted her faith to mature.

Perhaps we can wonder why Jesus made exception for this woman. There was a large crowd following Him, everyone searching for some sort of experience with Jesus. We will never know for sure what makes this woman stand out. Maybe it is because she was a woman. In His society and in present times as well, women are often treated a means to an end. She saw Jesus in the same way because it was the only way she was conditioned to deal with people. The old woman also lost everything including her dignity. It is possible that she thought that all she was worthy of was a mere experience and not a genuine encounter with Jesus.

Experience and encounter are not interchangeable. The former is limited. It is just a more like an emotional event in the sense that it doesn’t change who we are. In the religious environment, there has been a lot of talk about experiences. We are left with a spirituality that reeks with sentimentalism. The nine lepers experienced healing and they still remained ungrateful people. People can have a wonderful experience in a spiritual retreat and not necessarily change anything in their personal lives. People can have a wonderful missionary experience and still not change their outlook of life or treatment of others. This is where it gets interesting for me. I have been spiritually imprisoned in an experience-oriented missionary idea for a long time. Now I am learning to understand what it means to have an encounter. I find that these moments are always transforming how I see life in general.
We brought Wanderson to watch the game because we wanted him to have an experience. At the end of the day we had an encounter instead.

Encounters are not sensational. The soccer event that we attended had huge screens with large speakers. There were decorated stands selling food and drinks. Brazilian flags were flown everywhere and everything was geared towards creating a wonderful soccer experience. However, Wanderson held our hands tightly. This is a seventeen year old boy and he wanted to hold our hands because he felt secure. After we got out of the crowd, he asked me to bring a game of checkers the next day. He wanted to play a quiet game with us. Nothing spectacular here except that we were like parents to a boy who was abandoned in an orphanage at a very young age. All his life, he created a fantasy family. He often told us unbelievable stories about his family which were a poignant reminder to us about the loneliness that these children sense in their hearts. Recently, he has stopped with these stories. He has began to spend more time with us too.

God gives us encounters when we least expect them. It is easy to miss them if our focus is just on accumulating experiences. Albeit, these are easy to fabricate whereas encounters requires us to wait. They don’t come to us by our efforts but are graciously given to us. The woman was happy to be healed but God’s grace made Jesus stop and ask who touched him. She could have left the scene and been happy with her healed body. However, her encounter with Jesus transformed her. Jesus called her daughter. She was God’s daughter, not an abandoned old woman cursed with an illness. She belonged to God. Jesus pointed out that she had the faith to believe this but social conditioning had made her to think otherwise.

I believe that every encounter is a step towards understanding that we are truly God’s daughters and sons. Wanderson’s desire to hold our hands tightly is a response to God’s prompting in his heart that he belongs to someone. He is not alone or lost in this world. He held our hands. We are part of this physically. We are connected to him. It is a privilege God has given us. Not only us, we know that there are people praying for him too. They are also part of being a symbol of acceptance and love for Wanderson. Our experience at the soccer event will be forgotten in weeks to come but our encounter with Wanderson holding our hands like a little child will be remembered for eternity because it is a gracious gift from God.

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Eternal Moments: An Unexpected Encounter

“And he took a child, and put him in the midst of them; and taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”- Mark 9:36-37

As I stepped out of the apartment building, I caught a glimpse of our neighbor hugging a young boy. He was about eleven. There was something emotional about the embrace. He looked a little sad and she was trying to comfort him. He was too young to be her son and I have never seen him around before. I was pretty sure that he doesn’t live with her. Anyway, it was none of my business. I said my customary “hello” and “goodbye” and went on my way.

As soon as I stepped out of the building, I heard a soft voice calling out, “Mister, mister.” I assumed that it was for someone else and walked on. The “Mister” persisted until it was right next to me. I turned and saw it was the neighbor’s young relative.

“Do you live in apartment 5B? I live next door, well, at least until tomorrow, I am moving.” He didn’t wait for me to answer and immediately asked the next question; “Do you play the guitar late at night?”

I was a little embarrassed. I have a habit of practicing my guitar late at night. I thought the walls were thick enough to buffer the sound but apparently I was wrong.

“Did I keep you awake?” I asked. “I am sorry if I did.”

“No, that’s not what I meant.” He retorted. “Every night I lay in bed listening to your playing. I find it very comforting.” Then his face slightly turned red after saying this. Maybe he felt that he was revealing too much. He waited for me to say something. I wasn’t sure what to say. Finally, I asked if he played. He nodded affirmatively and said that he liked to play Brazilian rock. However, he liked the finger-picking style I played. He asked about it. I told him that it was a classical form. He went silent for a minute. Then he said that his name was Lucas but he was moving tomorrow. It was the second time he said this. He held out his hand and shook my hand. He smiled shyly and said goodbye and went on his way.

This boy seemed like an introvert and it must have taken a lot of courage on his part to approach me. He belongs to a generation of internet and Facebook, a world inundated with virtual friends and relationships but lacking in any real human contact. Every night he heard a real person making some noise on his guitar. I know where I am musically and I won’t say that it was great playing that kept him company. I believe that it was the human contact. Through music, he had contact with a real person but there was a wall separating us. Today he overcome this barrier and made the connection. As I made my way to the bus stop my mind was reeling over our simple interaction and lo and behold, he was there waiting for his bus. He did not see me and I wasn’t going to get his attention. I am kind of an introvert as well. I don’t really feel comfortable approaching strangers. Then, all the sudden, like before, I heard the voice again but this time, it was a question; “Where are you going?”

I told him that I was going to a bookshop. He automatically said that he was going for some extra lessons with a tutor. He asked what I did for work and I told him that I worked with homeless children. He kept quiet for a while. I could see that his mind was thinking. He wanted to say something but he wasn’t sure what was appropriate. I asked if my neighbor was his grandmother. He said no but did not elaborate. I did not pursue the subject. I don’t need him to unravel his complicated family background. Besides, it wouldn’t add anything to this encounter. Then, there was a silence between us but it wasn’t awkward. It was just silence. When my bus arrived, he shook my hand again. He smiled and I could see that he was happy that he made the connection with me. I was grateful for this opportunity.

There was a wall between us. The barrier would have separated us forever. He took the initiative to overcome the wall. Now, we had this moment together. He has seen my face and I know his name. Maybe there will be other moments like this and maybe we will never see each other again. After all, he is moving. No matter what happens we had this moment together and it will remain with me. Something mysterious happened in my soul. I cannot explain it. It reminds me of the beauty of Christmas; God overcoming barriers and making Himself known to us.

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