Over the last 2000 years technology has changed, the roads look different, and now the buildings are a little taller here, but the culture, the social structure, and the attitudes I see here, they are the same ones I read about Jesus being surrounded by.
I see the people and scenarios from that other world played out right here in my world and these stories now have faces and emotions and I relate to them and they become so much more real and special to me. I’ll share with you some of the most alive of these stories from that other world.
As Jesus entered Jericho there was a blind man sitting near the road, begging. When the blind man heard it was Jesus coming he cried out for help! He had heard that Jesus had done some amazing things, even healed blind people. The other people told this unimportant beggar to be quiet, not to bother the important rabbi that was walking past. Jesus stopped walking and healed the man that the others regarded as unimportant, and unworthy to get near the rabbi. Daily I see blind people sitting by the side of the road begging. When I read about this man calling out to Jesus I see the young blind man by that tree he always sits under; sometimes he jumps up and down or yells things to get attention. I see the old blind man at the intersection, led around by his daughter or grandson to get a few cents while the cars are stopped at the light, or the group of blind people that stand on the bridge near my neighborhood. Every now and then I’ll hear a blind person slowly walking down the road next to my office yelling “Allah! Allah! Allah!” letting people know he is there and needs money, crying out to Allah for mercy. These are the faces I see and voices I now hear when I read stories of blind people in the scripture.
I recently visited the ocean. There most of the villagers make their living by fishing. Many of the markets I bought souvenirs in stunk of the fish markets nearby that were full of fresh and dried fish. As I walked along the beach early one morning I counted 34 small wooden boats a few hundred yards off shore casting their nets trying to catch enough fish to sell that day; a scene I imagine to be common in Jesus’ day. I saw a group of men with casting nets trying to catch a few fish near the shore. As I spoke with one, he said they hadn’t caught anything…he blamed the calm sea. I thought of Peter, James, and John who hadn’t caught any fish all night when Jesus called them to follow Him. Now when I read about Jesus hanging out with fisherman, I see the wooden boats, I smell the fish market, and I see the sun darkened faces of ignoble men.
Towards the end of Ramadan when we were nearing the first Eid (celebration at the end of the month of fasting) thousands of beggars from the villages came to Dhaka in hopes that in this season of generosity they could make some extra money. I got to my gate one evening and there was a beggar sitting on a stool asking for money. My first thoughts were negative, wondering why he was in front of MY gate, and why didn’t someone tell him to go away, beggars aren’t allowed here…then I thought of the rich man who “ate sumptuously” and of Lazarus, the old poor man with sores who sat outside of the rich man’s gate. I was ashamed at my thoughts.
In one particular downtown area I go often there are dozens of beggar children. My heart breaks for these kids that this is the only life they know, that they are abused and taken advantage of, and that they aren’t in school. All those things aside, it can be annoying when they follow me down the street saying “boss, boss, boss, give me money, give me money.” They don’t go away, they follow me, they tug at my pant leg, I’ve had small children bear hug my leg and take a ride for a few steps. I react many different ways depending on my mood, the kid’s age, whether or not I’ve seen them before, and whether or not I think money will go to their family or to a pimp. Many times a shop owner or a guard will yell at the kids and tell them to leave me alone. I’ve gotten used to the kids and most of them recognize me. I don’t mind them much, I smile and talk to most of them. I recently thought about the kids that came to Jesus one day. The disciples yelled at them and told them to go away. I always assumed these kids were affluent people’s children who didn’t have school that day, but they would have been with their affluent parents and not have been rebuked right? Maybe. Now I think they were more like the 10 yr old that always tries to sell me books of little mermaid and Dora stickers, the 8 yr old that desperately wanted me to buy an Argentina flag from him, the 9 yr old girl trying to sell me a flower she picked from the hotel flowerbed, the 7 year old and his sister that wanted to sell me a baby bird, the 4 yr old that thought it was fun to grab onto my leg and see how far he could go for a ride, or the dozens of other children that just follow me around asking for money. Jesus put the affluent adults aside, rebuked his disciples and He called these children over. He took a knee or sat on the ground at their level, He asked their names and how old they were. He ruffled their hair, He healed their boo boos, and He blessed them.
These are some of the many stories that seem to jump off the pages of scripture and unfold before my eyes.
In the world I grew up in I never saw many blind people begging by the side of the road, or fisherman cleaning the nets they make a living by, nor did I have beggars sitting at my gate, and I didn’t have beggar children tugging at my pant leg. But living here in this world, and in this culture that isn’t so different from the culture in Jesus’ time, it has made the stories of His life become so much more real to me.
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