Being Jesus

This week I have finished reading another of Jim Palmer's books - Being Jesus in Nashville.  In it he sets out trying to find out what it would be like living in his home town of Nashville daily submitting to the now well-known phrase 'What Would Jesus Do?' WWJD?  Originally he thought that maybe he should start some project or plan to do something special.  When he studied the life of Jesus though he discovered that Jesus didn't set out to implement some plan but just went about his day-to-day living.  He got a bunch of friends to hang out and travel with and helped people he encountered along the way.  So instead of setting up some sort of help group Jim decided to just carry on as normal but always with the WWJD thought in mind.


He used to frequent a particular coffee shop and through regular visits there met a young woman who introduced herself as someone who had been involved with the media and had made a film about homelessness.  Jim was intrigued.  They chatted regularly when they were at the coffee shop.  Jim had for a long time been involved in helping the homeless, helping out at the shelter and donating money.  It was a cause close to his heart.  So it was a surprise when one day his friend revealed that she was homeless.  She went to the coffee shop so that she could use their free wi-fi.  That was her office.  The owner knew her and made sure that she had at least one meal every day.  Jim was a little taken aback as he had in his mind certain ideas about homeless people, what they were like and why they were homeless.  And suddenly here was this woman with whom he had struck up a friendship and she didn't fit into any of the ideas that he had about homeless people.  She still worked within the media setup but did not earn enough to cover a rent and pay for all the utilities, as happens in many countries without any sort of welfare system.  So here she was, a working but homeless young woman.


One day she offered to buy Jim a coffee.  At first his reaction was 'no way'.  How could he accept even such a small gift from someone who was homeless?  Should it not be the other way around - him buying her a coffee?  She insisted that she really wanted to buy him a coffee as a friend.  She then went on to explain that what a homeless person wants most of all is friendship, to feel accepted and not judged, seen as part of the human race and not some 'outsider' who is excluded from ordinary life.  She wanted to have that feeling of self worth being able to carry out the simple gesture of buying a friend a coffee  It's good that people give money or volunteer at a shelter for the homeless or help by giving a meal to a hungry soul but what they crave is real friendship.  People help but at a distance.  It was then that WWJD came to Jim's mind.  Jesus got involved with people.  He spent time with them, talked to them, where they were.  And so Jim realised that being Jesus in Nashville was not so much about helping out (although that is also necessary) as being a friend.


For most of us, I guess, the way we help is by giving money or being involved in some project.  Sadly when this is done through a religious setup it usually involves trying to convert people and getting them to join whatever religious group is carrying out the project. It's almost used as some outreach programme to get people in.  And many are left feeling that out of a sense of gratitude that maybe they should.   What would Jesus do?  Well I don't read anywhere that he insisted that anyone he helped should tag along to their nightly study group or join with them on their journeys.  More often that not he told them to go back home and remember their encounter and what he said and did.  He saw their real need and met it without any obligation on the recipient.  He was being a real friend when they were in trouble.  It's good to give money and get involved in some charitable work.  This is greatly needed in the world we live in.  It seems though that being Jesus in ... (wherever you happen to be) is not about money so much as it is about making someone feel wanted and included, learning about them as people and not just 'some needy soul'.  It's about giving them a sense of value as a human being and self worth.  It's being alongside them and not just about hand outs.  'What a friend we have in Jesus.'  Being Jesus - being a friend.