I met Rambling Jesus today.
Rambling Jesus wore a weathered, purple polo shirt, a blue button-up sweater, a pocketwatch and a huge belt buckle. He stood 6’2″ and wore brown, square-rimmed eyeglasses. Rambling Jesus was an old man, probably in his 70’s, with the bluest eyes you’ve ever seen.
Rambling Jesus sat in his chair and clapped effusively as our group performed for him and approximately 25 other senior-home residents. We’d been practicing these songs for months, going over the lyrics and the notes and our need to smile and act like we were happy to be there, even if we weren’t. I watched Rambling Jesus as we started to sing. His face lit up with a huge smile before we even opened our mouths. He audibly expressed his delight with our song choices, rejoicing at our imprecise renditions of love songs from a variety of genres.
Rambling Jesus is named Bob Noise. Earlier in life, he flunked out of pilot school. Something about a time when he accidentally flew his plane upside down while his instructor was with him. He wasn’t much of a pilot, he said, but he was pretty good at crash landings. He also spent time in the wine business and later he was a teacher. He told his stories and captivated the group of young girls gathered around him. Rambling Jesus was a great story-teller, even if he did tend to ramble a little bit.
And I’m pretty sure at least some of what he said was a bit embellished.
But I realized as we talked with him and listened to his stories that he was the reason we were here. In that moment, we listened to him as if he were Jesus. He was the “least of these”. But for a moment, he had an audience and his stories could come alive and he was twenty-something again, flying planes upside down & captivating all the girls.
I just never expected Jesus to ramble as he told his stories.
But then again, He never has been what I would’ve expected Him to be.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
already & not yet 
As I sit and think about these things you wrote, I can’t help but think of a few of the other unexpected Jesus figures we saw this past week.I saw Jesus in the handicapped children. Jacob, the little blonde-haired boy whose smile lit up the room. Amanda, the little girl with the biggest brown eyes I had ever seen. She said so much with those eyes. Charles, the boy who loved to hear the song, You Are My Sunshine. Does he realize that he was the Son to us? I saw Jesus in the ladies that cared for those children. They get to experience the joy we felt with them everyday, but they also have to endure the pain that goes along with it. I can’t begin to imagine the various emotions they feel. I saw Jesus in the eldery people that laughed with joy, that cried in pain, and that simply sat quietly, barely tapping their fingertips.I saw Jesus in the memebers of the Horseheads congergation. In their eagerness to serve us. In their love for each other and for us. I saw Jesus in our kids, but I also saw them experiencing Jesus. To see them listen to the Rambling Jesus. To see them allow Charles to mess up their hair. To see them respond to the dancing and the tears of the elderly people. I could go on and on, but then I would need to just write a blog of my own. Thank you for letting me be here and experience all of this. I truly feel blessed.
Talking with Grandpa Bob was one of my favorite experiences on this trip. His gratitude and joy were so openly expressed, and I know that he was expressing what every person we did the show for felt–he was the spokesperson for all those who couldn’t speak or didn’t know how to express their feelings to us.Just watching those elderly people and knowing that they had gone through every thing that the teens in our group are going through (and more), knowing that they were once just like us and at heart still are, really impacted me. I never cease to be amazed at the ways God shows us Himself.
I could’ve easily talked about how we saw Jesus in Charlie…I didn’t know Jesus loved “You Are My Sunshine” or playing with girls’ hair! But the thing I learned this week in NY was that I am the “least of these”, for Charlie and Bob and countless others ministered to me, giving me the cup of cool water my soul needed. Whether they realized it or not, they were Jesus to me.