Galilean Nights

On Sunday, after one of the Services, Pastor Ron let me read a poem he had just recently written. I loved it, and badgered him to send it to me so I could post it on the blog. I was surprised when he sent me two attachments. Since I had already read his poem, I was immediately intrigued by the second attachment. Now, Pastor Ron is a very good writer, but I was blown away by what I read in that second attachment. Consider the implications of what you read in Pastor Ron Baesler’s…

GALILEAN NIGHTS

Hey, Judas, pass me that wineskin, will ya.

Here, catch!

Whoa… man, it’s almost empty.

You’re surprised. Didn’t you see the Zebedee boys when we were eating bread a couple of hours ago?

Yeah, now that you mention it, those sons of thunder were really roarin’! Where are they by the way?

Those two… can’t you hear ‘em? They’re conked out over by those bushes.

Wine’ll do that to you! How about the rest of the guys?

While you were up the hill praying, Peter convinced everybody to go into the town. Claimed he had a cousin who might be up for company.

Yeah, that’s Peter’s gift isn’t it? Knows somebody in every town; he’s just a party waiting to happen. Ah… to be young again!

What do you mean, “young again”? You’re not old.

Big difference between 25 and 30, you know. After 30, I became an official responsible adult. But hey, Judas, why didn’t you go with the gang?

Well, Jesus, I… well… you know… I thought somebody should stay and ah, well… protect you.

Hah, hah. I’ve got the sons of thunder right there in the bushes. Their snoring alone would send a whole legion stampeding in terror!

Ha, you’re right there. …But seriously, Jesus soldiers aren’t the problem. Its hoodlums; out here, people are barely feeding their children, the Romans crush them with taxes, so they’ve got nothing... and nothing to lose. Desperate robbers and thieves….that’s what these damn Romans have turned us into.

Sure, Judas, I suppose you’re right. Guess I should say thank you. But you know I didn’t invite you along to be my body guard.

I… OK… well, you know, Jesus, I’m not sure why you did invite me. I mean, I’m glad you did, sure, but I guess, well… I was hoping I could be more useful.

Useful… hmm… Interesting choice of words, Judas. Useful in what way?

I don’t know… I thought by now we’d have some plan, some strategy that we’d be moving forward on.

How do you know we’re not?

We’re not what?

How do you know we’re not moving forward on some plan?

How could we be? We haven’t set any timetables; we haven’t had any strategy meetings…unless I wasn’t invi--… I mean… OK, so maybe I wasn’t invited… Sorry if I…

Judas, hey… brother… Calm down. You should know by now I’m not a secret meeting kind a guy. With me, ‘What you see is what you get.’

Oh, Jesus, that’s a good one! What I see is a good Jew who dresses poor shabby chic like the rest of us, I see a guy who laughs with the little ones and cries with the lost ones. All of that see, all of that I get. But when you start talkin’ with that up country twang I swear even the birds stop to listen, then, when you start tellin’ your stories-- the Lord of heaven be my witness, power dances and crackles in the air. And don’t even get me started about yesterday and those loaves and fishes… ‘What you see is what you get?’ Yeah right, brother Jesus!

OK, OK, you made your point. But Judas, what if it’s all in the seeing.

Whaddya mean?

Remember yesterday afternoon when we were walking north out of Capernaum and we saw that fox?

Yeaaah…

Remember how it blended in with the rocks and grass? Remember how long it took some of us to see it?

I don’t think Matthew ever did see it.

Right… that fox was there for all of us to see. But none of us would have seen it if Nathanael hadn’t spied it. You know why he saw it?

No.

Because he spent years and years taking care of his dad’s sheep on the pastures south of Bethany. Haven’t you noticed? As we walk along he’s always scanning the hills, letting his eyes roam over rocks and poke into shadows. He’s trained himself to see what most of us would miss. Maybe I AM a “what you see is what you get kind of guy.” The problem is people haven’t trained their eyes to see what’s right in front of them.

Never thought of it that way before…. So you’re sayin’ there really is a plan and I just can’t see it?

Aw Judas, you and your plan. Why is that so important to you? Why can’t you just enjoy the journey? Wake up in the morning and see the swallows stitching the sky together, hear the ewes chewing out their lambs for lagging behind the flock, smell the bread a mother is baking for her family off in some village. Some mornings, Judas, I swear, I try to take in all of the bounty and beauty around me and my soul aches from trying to embrace it all. Can’t you just embrace it, just live it?

Oh, I do enjoy the journey…..I mean I’ve never done anything like this before. Every day… wide open, like an empty scroll and we fill it in as we choose. I mean such freedom, scary sometimes…but, Jesus, how can I not think about a plan… you’re the one who keeps saying “the Kingdom of God is coming.” To me that means changes, big changes… and changes don’t just happen, ‘poof’ like some wizard’s tricks. You need a plan. And as I see it, if God’s kingdom is coming then that means the Roman’s kingdom is going and that’s not going to be easy, so---

Judas, whoa, slow down. You are definitely my impatient brother. And you’re right I have been talking about the kingdom and sure that’s gonna mean changes. Will you see them? Will anyone see them? How do we train our eyes? Come here, sit down on this rock. Now look up and tell me what you see.

Dark sky and stars. Should I be seeing something else?

No, no. that’s what I see too. Stars. I wonder, how many of them are there?

Whoa, too many to count. Only God knows.

You think?

What?

You think God knows how many stars are in heaven?

Well, I… sure. God knows everything.

How do you know that?

I must have learned it in the yeshiva. But, hey, what kind of God would our God be if he didn’t know everything?

Ah Judas! Now that’s a sweet question, a juicy, luscious question. We could sink the teeth of our minds into that one and chew all night long. “What kind of God would our God be if he didn’t know everything?” Well, whaddya think? Maybe he’d be a God waiting for us to surprise him, a God waiting for us to make the next move, or a God waiting to see what we’ll do with the world he’s put into our hands. Ah, brother Judas. What a question. You have made my day. Thank you!

I… you’re welcome, I guess. I don’t know, to me it’s scary to think God gives us that much leeway, that much responsibility. I’m not sure I want it.

Yeah, but what if you already have it? What if that is God’s plan? What if you and I are the ones who will have to shape tomorrow… what if…? Ah Judas… tomorrow, tomorrow. I think before tomorrow comes I need to get some sleep.

Yeah it is late. I suppose Peter and the rest will be back before long, too.

Judas, if you wanna do guard duty, OK… you wanna sleep, that’s OK, too. Just remember, Judas, you are free, you have a choice! Goodnight.

Goodnight Jesus. I think I’ll stay up awhile. Maybe I’ll try to count the stars.

Thank you, Pastor Ron, for reminding me that, in Jesus, I have a choice. In Jesus, I am free!

If you want to pass something positive, uplifting, and perhaps a bit challenging along to your friends, send them a link to this blog page with Pastor Ron’s story. If you don’t know how to do that, ask a 14-year old to help you (and perhaps teach you). LOL!

Your brother in Christ,

Dave