The church takes a unique approach to Maundy Thursday here. They focus on the institution of a new commandment rather than on the Communion end of the Last Supper. They adopted the mentality that Jesus gave freely and so should we. This year the idea was to go to a new subdivision and pass out Easter baskets containing candy, a card of info on the church services this weekend, a $50 gas card, and a Bible. Each home would get one.
So we met at the church for a short devo and to get 3 baskets and addresses for each car. We also got a little script of what to say when we passed out the baskets (who we're with, what's in the basket, and wishing them a happy Holy week, and explaining why we're doing this).
This was my first outreach project of such a deliberate means. I've never gone on a mission trip or anything. Sure, I've done service work, but this was different. I had no idea what to expect.
House #1: Nobody was home. Chalk that up as anticlimactic.
House #2: A sweet old lady with cancer and a chubby little dog. She was housebound and very insistant that she didn't eat candy and was part of the Methodist church. She was excited when we told her about the gas card and Bible, though.
House #3: We met somebody as they were leaving. She was the nanny, but she was willing to take the basket and was thankful for it.
So then we went up to the house and rang the bell. We waiting. A man came out eating something, and he walked straight through us. He shut us down fast saying he didn't want the basket, and that he was the only one who would open the door at the house. He did not want the basket, and he did not want to hear any of what we had to say. He walked down the street, and we walked to another group from church to hear about their houses. When we walked back to the car, the man was walking by again. He said, "Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition."
I was baffled, and a little scared of that guy...and intrigued.
What has happened to this man to make him so brash, so closed off? Was it just a bad day or a bad experience? Does he reject religion? Does he ponder Jesus and faith at all? What hurts does his heart hold?
I looked up the reference. There's a song published in 1942 based on WWII and a story about a chaplain in a plane with soldiers about to jump out and fight, and he said those words to those men to help encourage them.
Maybe this man was being completely sarcastic and condescending (which was my initial thought)...but what if he was reaching out in his own way?
The church is going back out on Saturday morning. I might go back out with them. I'd like to try to talk to him again.
~"Trust and love will lead the way." ["Children of the Light" - Lacrae]
No comments:
Post a Comment