Face to Face with the messiah or the Messiah?

So today was amazing and crazy. Amazing because the weather was unbelievable. It’s that time of year again where people are coming out of hibernation after a long winter. Crazy because I had 2 different people tell me they were either the messiah or they were an integral part of the second coming. The weather was so unbelievably nice today. Probably around 60 degrees and breezy. Got a little cool as we were loading up to leave, but it was so nice to go down and not even have to wear a jacket. Love those days, especially in this climate. And people are just happier when the weather changes. You can just sense a good feeling in the air. Apparently so much so that it even brings out a few guys who maybe aren't quite sure of their lot in life?

So I met a fellow named Steven today for the first time. As I was unloading the trailer, he approached me and wanted me to listen to his headphones. It’s a little chaotic when we are unloading, with lots of people trying to help and all, so it’s tough for me to stop and listen to a guy’s headphones. I listened for a minute through one ear, but he was insisting that I put the headphones on both ears and really listen. I had to decline for the moment, but promised I’d get back to him. And then when we were praying, he was making some sort of noise or disturbance. I didn’t think too much of it until a bit later. I’d just met the guy for the first time, so I wasn’t real sure of his state of mind. After we’d finished praying and I was visiting people in the serving line, he stopped me and that’s when things got a bit interesting. You see, Steven has some pretty grand ideas about who he is and his place here on earth. He asked me the following question and I have to paraphrase – "Why is it that Adam and Eve were separated from God, yet Moses was able to speak directly to God via a burning bush and the Jews were able to speak directly to God?" Huh? I had to think about that one, because I wasn’t sure where that was going. So my response, obviously is that we all can go directly to God. Steven’s response? Oh no we can’t. In his mind and emphatically, not one "Christian leader" in the whole city could answer that question correctly and you know why? Because in his words…"He is the messiah". Now that one definitely threw me. So I kind of ended that portion of the conversation and moved on through the line.

And then a bit later, he found me and continued more of the same conversation. He was going on about how he was God and how he was gong to sue us for copyright infringement. What? Well apparently we didn't get permission to distribute the Bibles we were giving out. Oh and on top of all that? He is going to run for president because President Obama is trouble for our country. He even has a website called obamaisahonkeydonkey.com. Whatever that means. So yeah, when I got home? I checked it out. Yep. I did. It doesn’t exist. It really was just a bunch of crazy conversation. And it was tough not to laugh at the guy, because the stuff he was saying was so off the wall, I couldn’t tell if he was being serious, if he was a comedian or if he was just out there. I mean, after talking to him a couple of different times, in his mind he was serious. And he was very well spoken. Oh, and he was also getting ready to launch an internet startup company. He was going to be much wealthier than Gates or Buffet. He’d forced himself to be poor for a period of time, but now it was time to get serious. Just some really bizarre moments.

Bu the thing that stuck with me through all of it was what if? What if Christ were to show up on that corner? What if? When he said he was the messiah, it just kind of stopped me in my tracks for just a minute. I had to look and think, what if? How would He be treated? If the Messiah were to grace us with His presence, what would that look like? Like Steven? Or the other fellow that proclaimed to me that once his mission here was complete, the devil would no longer be able to make people sin? I mean, these situations were really confounding to me today. How do both of these conversations happen independently of each other on the same Sunday? I really believe they both believed it. But again, what if He showed up? And you know, He does. Every single week, He shows up. Every single Sunday, He shows up. And every single Sunday, we are blessed to be in His presence. I know that for a fact.

So another fellow hands me two somewhat crumpled, torn pieces of paper last week. They contained the following bits of wisdom:

If you want God to hear your prayers, hear the voice of the poor. If you wish God to anticipate your wants, provide those of the needy without waiting for them to ask you. Especially anticipate the needs of those who are ashamed to beg. To make them ask for alms is to make them buy it.– St. Thomas of Villanova

"Charity begins today. Today somebody is suffering, today somebody is in the street, today somebody is hungry. Our work is for today, yesterday has gone, tomorrow has not yet come - today, we have only today to make Jesus known, loved, served, fed, clothed, sheltered, etc. Today - do not to wait for tomorrow. Tomorrow might not come. Tomorrow we will not have them if we do not feed them today." (Mother Teresa 1991).

These two things kind of hung with all week. I read them and reread them several times. They just seemed profound to me. Maybe it’s just my state of mind these days? Who knows? Maybe I could ask Steven?

Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. ~1 Peter 4:10

Peace, have a great and blessed week and make a difference.

…it matters to that one… :)