Encounters With Jesus Sample

From Outcast to Evangelist   

I was perhaps eleven or twelve years old when my dad came home one evening with some somber news. “They found Claude under a bridge this morning . . . he was frozen as hard as an ice cube.”

Those words continue to ring in my ears all these years later. Claude was a homeless man who wandered in and out of our small southern Oregon logging town while riding an old ten-speed bicycle and carrying the biggest pack of earthly possessions you can imagine. I’m still amazed the man could pedal his bike without falling over under that load.

I’m sad to say that my friends and I referred to him as Dirt Claude due to the fact that he was filthy and carried the stench of someone who rarely saw a shower or bath. Though he couldn’t have been more than thirty years old, Claude was missing nearly all of his teeth. This didn’t prevent him from indulging in large wads of chewing tobacco, witnessed by the dark brown juices that dripped off his chin.

My dad chose to still show Claude dignity as a human being. If he saw Claude pedaling through town, he would pull his pickup to the side of the road where the two would talk for fifteen or twenty minutes. Before parting ways, Dad would almost always slip a twenty-dollar bill into Claude’s hand. I know because I would usually watch while slinking down into my seat for fear of being seen by my friends.

My compassionate dad might have been the last kind face Claude saw before succumbing to the elements on a cold and lonely winter night. My father’s actions eventually planted seeds of tenderness in my own heart toward those considered outcasts in society.

Remember that “fierce storm” Jesus calmed in yesterday’s reading? Upon landing on the other side of the lake, Jesus and his disciples encountered a screaming maniac who wasn’t exactly helping the local tourism industry. No one had any answers for this man consumed by his own internal storm. It was a full-blown category 5 hurricane.

When Jesus asked the man his name, an eerie voice answered, “Legion,” which indicated the amount of demons who took up residence inside. A typical Roman legion was made up of five thousand soldiers. Could it be that there were that many unclean spirits inside this poor guy? Regardless of the number, what kind of power had to be behind a man who could snap chains and smash shackles intended to subdue him?

At this point, I would have been hightailing it back to the boat. But the Son of God was about to calm his second storm of the day. In an instant, the demonic horde was evicted from their human house and now found themselves flying with pigs into the water. You might even call it the Great Swine Dive.

How do you repay someone who has taken you from a life of insanity to instant sanity? From being possessed to now being blessed? From hopeless to healed? With tears in your eyes, you beg and plead with the Teacher to allow you to follow him to the ends of the earth.

“No,” Jesus said. “I’ve had special plans for you all along. You’re going to stay quite busy sharing your story with everyone here in this region.”

Only with Jesus is it possible to go from outcast to evangelist in mere minutes.

Reflection: Do you know anyone like Claude in your area? How can you bring Jesus to the shores of outcasts in your neck of the woods?