By: Bill Johnson
She found herself sitting in a weary truck stop just off the interstate. It was the only place her family could find open after the late Christmas Eve service. Her husband had led the service and announced that he was hungry, so the family searched desperately for a restaurant, only to finally arrive here. The collection of folk in the truck stop was a motley crew, but they obviously found community there and were enjoying the presence of each other. A young couple came in carrying an infant child who soon started crying. The waitress quickly took the child and comforted her as the frazzled parents surveyed the menu. A one-armed customer sacramental and holy quietly came down. Heaven was touching earth.
As Harriet Riche observed this with her family she urgently said to her husband, “He’d come here.” She was thinking of the Christ child and sensed this was a tonight manger setting. Her husband replied, “Well, the birth narrative does say, ‘I bring good news to ALL people.’” We remember the original manger scene included a motley crew too.
Fast forward to Holy week, and on Passion Sunday the gospels proclaim that all the people came to meet Jesus. During that Holy week, as always, Jesus offered himself to everyone, and was rejected by most, and in the end, was left to die between two criminals. It is very symbolic, I suppose, that Jesus’ cross was lifted high on a hill for all to see, probably the “spaghetti junction” of Jerusalem. He was born for all and He died for all.
In her essay on the wisdom of middle age, Cathleen Falsani suggests several points on all. “God does not believe in ‘us’ and ‘them’. God chooses all of us.” She continues: “none is worthy but all are welcome in God’s house. So what part of ‘all’ don’t you understand?” For most of us, it is a much larger part than we want to acknowledge or confess.
Possibly these last days on the journey to the cross with Jesus, this could be something in our heart and life that we seek to truly and completely change.