House Calls with Jesus. Jude Lee
hospital bed nearby with an egg crate mattress upside down. He was very talkative; eyes lit up and he smiled when I exclaimed how great it was to see him up. You are a miracle I said, that you have heartbeat and breath and are sitting there fussing about the mattress. That is a miracle. God must want you here awhile longer. His shrug and smile was one of half acceptance. He talked a lot that visit. He talked of his routine, his day to day activity when he was well. How important it was to get to town after work and hang with his friends, just “easy sharing.” His descriptive words about what he did were streetwise, after uttering them, he looked up with eyes a twinkle and apologized. I remarked how good it was to see him smile. How much it mattered that he was alive.
He stopped then mid-thought, his face contorted to tears. They stayed, silent sentinels at the edge of his thin sunken eyes. He seemed more vulnerable this time, unsure about shrugging off his heart. I touched his hand gently. We sat a long time silent. The silence was broken by the sudden appearance of his friend at the bedroom door. We were both startled back to reality. The moment of transparency was shattered. He thanked me for coming, for listening. His gratitude was so sincere, a rare expression of emotion in a man used to not being heard, used to being passed over, used to being overlooked. I patted his hand:
It is a great pleasure sir, a great pleasure to see you, to be with you.
His eyes filled again. I asked gently:
Can I pray with you this time?
No, he shook his head.
Ok dear, I’ll pray for you in the car.
He half-smiled again. I stood up, went to his door and turned.
Sir, it was so good for me to see you. I am so glad I got to see you again. I had to see you again. I thought you weren’t going to make it last time. Thank you. I will see you next week.
He nodded, his face contorted to tears. We shook hands and he held my hand a little longer in a firm squeeze. Our eyes locked.
See you then, he nodded.
The rain was coming down. How bereft he is I thought, how alone. How much he needs You, Lord, Your presence, Your comfort, Your strength. Maybe next time, maybe next time.
There is not a next time: he died, two days later.
Let not your hearts be troubled;
You believe in God, believe also in Me.
In My Father’s house are many mansions;
if it were not so,
I would have told you.
I go to prepare a place for you.
I will come again and receive you to Myself,
That where I am, there you may be also.
And where I go you know, and the way you know.
Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know
where You are going,
How can we know the way?”
Jesus said to him, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
No one comes to the Father except through Me.
No one comes to the Father except through Me.
It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.
The words that I speak to you are spirit,
and they are life.
But there are some of you who do not believe.
No one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father…
I am the Way, the Truth, the Life.
(adapted from John 14: 1-6; 6:63-65; 14:6, NKJV)
In the beginning was the Word,
And the Word was with God
And the Word was God.
He was with God in the Beginning.
hrough Him all things were made,
Without Him nothing was made that has been made.
In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.
The light shines in the darkness,
But the darkness has not understood it…
He was in the world and though the world
was made through Him,
The world did not recognize Him.
He came to that which was His own,
but His own did not receive Him.
Yet to all who received Him,
To those who believed in His Name,
He gave the right to become children of God,
Children not born of natural descent,
nor of human decision
Or a husband’s will, but born of God.
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.
We have seen His glory.
The glory of the One and Only Who came from the Father,
Full of grace and truth.
Full of grace and truth.
(adapted from John 1:1-14, NIV)
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