Day 146h: The benevolence of Bethany … (September 22, 2019)
And then it was that I came across the Bethany Baptist Church, where I saw more than a few cars in the parking lot and entered to ask for a glass of water before flowing onward along my Way. And yet to my great surprise, some sort of communal potluck dinner was underway, and pastor Rick* invited me into their enclave to enjoy some delicious food (pasta with veggies for me) and warm fellowship – especially reveling in the company of Mary & John, a sweet elderly couple whose advanced age was dwarfed by the graciousness of their hearts …
*Rick was sincerely interested in my Walk, no doubt, and yet he also didn’t miss the chance to preach to me the precepts of Paul – namely, that I too needed to accept Jesus as my own personal Lord & Savior in order to enter heaven and be saved. And as was ever the case in such scenarios, I calmly countered with The Way of Jesus Christ – the simple knowledge that we have all not been summoned to in any way save our own souls, but have rather been called to give our entire lives to caring for others; and this, whether we end up being ourselves saved or not. As one might well imagine, Rick was less than overjoyed at hearing this – especially when I was so readily able to back the entire discussion up with specific verses from the Gospels – and yet to his great credit, he exuded a sincere warmth towards me even after our conversation had ended, and maintained an earnest air of hospitality throughout my remaining time there amongst ‘his flock’ …
“And as Jesus went ashore, he saw a great crowd gathered there; and he had a heartfelt compassion for them all … and he began to teach them many things.” ~ unknown (Mark 6:34)
“Everything is inexhaustibly holy, which is not what they taught you in the church of your childhood. Our Souls have all been formed in the forge of life’s losses, galvanized in the crucible of community, fertilized by the rain of relationship, blessed by our intimacies with Mother Earth. We have all walked through wonders unimaginable, and glimpsed the face of the Divine where we least expected to find the same … And in this vein every Christian community should do as Jesus did: propose while never imposing; and embodying far more in deed than in speech.” ~ inspired by Miribai Starr & Jean Vanier
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