A Stranger Shall Teach Them

© 1999 Don Rogers

A disheveled gentleman in his fifties, obviously travelling on foot, sunburned neck, faded green pants and a brown t-shirt, appeared, in time to join the midweek church dinner. He carries with him a cardboard "box" or portfolio and has prints of an original drawing of Jesus he made years ago.

He travels the country visiting people, in offices, bus stations and suspects that people keep up with his whereabouts on the Internet. His name is Jerry and he has intense blue eyes.

He was delighted for the meal we served him. Our Alpha Bible Study (Episcopal-seekers level) leader paid for it. Then Jerry attended the evening class where the scheduled topic for the night was to be "Who is Jesus". He held us spellbound as he told how it is always the children that when they see his picture, point to it and say "that's Jesus". Adults instead ask who Jerry is and what he is doing there.

He talked of St. John and the dark night of the soul. He told of a businessman in fine suit, with a young son, spending "quality" time, whose heart was opened when his son begged his father to buy him one of his pictures.

He said many people ask him "what color are Jesus' eyes?" He always stops to think first, but he says he believes that they were blue. He said that in Tucson that he had to wear a white handkerchief tucked under his baseball cap to keep his ears from being burned off his head and he wondered if that was what if felt like for Jesus.

As we discussed what our concept of Christ was the leaders became the students. Bruce, who had bought him dinner, was given a print, with a flourish. I gave him $6 - all the cash I had on me. He gave me three prints, and specified where they were to go: one for me, one for a very well dressed lady who looked depressed and one for a Sunday School Class. After the vespers service, when people saw the prints in my hand, they demanded to know where he was, where had he last been seen.....and rushed over to Room 4 to buy some of the marvelous prints, with $20 bills in hand, but he had already gone.

My "picture" is now so very precious. Others want it and need it more than me: a recent widow, a young friend in a bad marriage, a child. Everyone that sees my print says "where can I get one ?" I wish I had gone to the ATM machine and bought all the prints he had so I could give them away too. And live a simpler life.