Courage to be vulnerable

At about 11:50 a.m. on  Monday, 14 February 2011, while reversing to depart the Scotia Bank car park, downtown Kingston, a lady, bag in hand, approached me. I stopped, “I have nothing to give you” I said to myself. “These people are always begging” I continued in my mind. By this time she was standing very close to the vehicle. “Oh it was so wonderful! It was a great day” she said. “Just listen to this confidence trickster” I said to myself, all the time not wanting to look at her. She continued “In the morning at Ebenezer Rev’d - (she called a name sounding like that of one of my colleagues and I began to slowly sink in myself) - gave us a wonderful and challenging message and in the afternoon, Rev’d Galbraith, what a great service and a powerful sermon!” she continued with a smile. 

Yes! The lady I had assumed was a beggar was a long standing Methodist and an ardent member of Coke Methodist Chapel who attended the Conference Sunday Circuit worship at Ebenezer in Tivoli Gardens and the Official Opening of Conference at Coke where I preached on the sub theme “Operation People Project.”  We shared for a while about our church and she shared with me some of what she is doing in service of the kingdom. She shared some of the things being done at Coke to recognize and appreciate people. After she held and squeezed my hand we bid farewell.

 We have to be so careful in this life.

That experience was a wake up call for me because I was forced to admit that I was judging this lady wrongfully and failing to recognize her, whoever she was, as one for whom Jesus died. Many times we try to avoid people because of our prejudice. This experience reminded me that we must always give persons a listening ear and refrain from hasty conclusions. Everyone has his/her story and that story can be a part of our story if we are willing to be vulnerable and allow the person to approach and share with us. Can you recall an occasion when you ignored someone because of how he/she looked or approached you? 

Remember, Jesus gave everyone a listening ear, as evidenced by His interaction with  Nicodemus (John 3), the Woman at the Well (John 4), Herod (Luke 23), the thief on the cross (Luke 23), Zaccheus (Luke 19) and the leper (Mark 1) - to name a few. In our effort to minister to people we must give everyone a listening ear even when we do not feel like it.

As we go through this life let us always remember that:

No man is an island, no man stands alone
Each man's joy is joy to me
Each man's grief is my own
We need one another, so I will defend
Each one as my brother (sister)
Each one as my friend

Thought:                    We are connected to each other.

Prayer Focus:           Courage to be vulnerable

Everald Galbraith

16 February 2011