Jesus is in the messiness of life

Sometimes you just have to make a mess in order to get the job done right, says every messy person. And yet there is a strand of truth in the statement.

I would really like to live in a world where life was nice and neat and put together, and yet that is never the way it goes. I was thinking the other day about the story in the Bible of the woman who touched Jesus’ robe in order to be healed.

Now there are lots of cool things to talk about with this story, the miracle of the healing, the way the woman was so sure of Jesus that she touched his clothing, the way Jesus responded. But what I would like to talk about was the messiness of it all, and how Jesus meets us amid messy situations.

Jesus is hurrying off to heal a child, and there are lots of people in the city. I like to imagine it’s like when you go to a concert or a sports event, and everyone is trying to get out at the same time. It’s like time stands still. Bodies jammed next to each other, pushing and shoving. The smell of sweat mixed with the breeze that blows through every so often.

There are some who are having a great time, some have had a little too much fun over the last little bit; some have had just enough. You can imagine this scene, and Jesus is making his way with this anxious father and then he is derailed.

Jesus gets caught in the mess of life. Have you gotten stuck in the mess of life? Like someone else sucked you into the messy parts of life? This last week I have witnessed some messiness first hand, and then how Jesus cleaned it all up.

First let me say I am changing the names and situations a bit to protect the people involved.

I had dreamed about starting this ministry where we take our Pumpkin Show booth to a particular location, share a meal out of it and then do a little ministry. So like a meal and a message all in one package.

So, the Outreach team at our church took this idea and ran with it. Some might say that sounds messy, but it really isn’t that messy. As the day moved closer and closer, things started to shift, and change.

Before long, the idea I had looked like nothing like what we did. In the end we handed out 65 meals at four locations with eight helpers. We had our children playing with the children we were handing out food to. I could not have scripted it. And as we invited children to Vacation Bible School, I was reminded that Jesus does work in the messiness of life.

My next adventure was an encounter I had with an unhoused woman who I met several times. We talked about her hopes and dreams, what she wanted to accomplish and how I might help her achieve those goals. She shared with me that she wanted to have a little area in her secluded area where she could talk to the younger women who had been abused and were fearful.

She asked if I might help once she had her spot. This was not a fancy room with comfy couches. Honestly, I would probably have had to bring my own chair. I realized as I talked to her, I was staring into the face of Jesus. Jesus is in the messiness of life.

Next time you encounter a mess, I invite you to ask yourself if there is something to be learned in the midst of the mess?

Is Jesus inviting you into something deeper? Well, I pray you have a blessed weekend. See you on Sunday.