A few months ago, I had the opportunity to meet a well known author. I have only read a few of her works, but have already become quite a fan. I have several times before had the opportunity to meet some of my favorite writers. As many become star-struck by rock stars, so I become star-struck by writers. At times, this leads me to become somewhat embarrassingly giddy when I meet them.
I often wonder why it is that we feel a special thrill in touching the famous and powerful. Is it that we feel that some of their greatness will rub off on us? Do we feel that power and talent can jump from one person to another like a flea?
If we look at Jesus’ life, it could not have taken him much farther from the rich and famous. He was not associated with the Herod clan, the major political powerhouse in Palestine at that time. His only brush with the royalty of the age was as a convict. Instead, he was a champion of the “little people.” He spent much of his time with the poor, infirm and uneducated. His closest followers were mostly tradesmen. He was ridiculed for being too much around the “wrong crowd.”
I remember reading this statement: “I like humanity in general; it is just in the particular that I do not like them.” I am sure that I have misquoted the writer somewhat, but the sentiment is the same. I love the poor from a distance. I sympathize with the suffering from a distance. It is in the particular – in the visceral closeness in which Christ operated – that I have problems.
I hope that one day I may have the humility to eschew being a respecter of persons. One of my goals in life is to love all equally regardless of their status in our world. I am a long way from that at present.
