I don’t think I’ve
ever read a book three times in one year, yet I’ve just returned to Theo. As
I recall writing in an earlier reflection, Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
is a lifelong companion – little I did know at the time I’d be spending so much
time with my new friend.
I first read Theo
on the hardy recommendation of my friend, Michael Daily. After I completed reading
Theo, I next read it aloud to Vickie. Since then I have often thought of
Theo, and Vickie and I regularly speak of the folks we met in Golden.
I have returned
to Theo of Golden because I want to touch some gracious humanity, I need
a good dose of kindness, I need some inspiration, I need some hope. I need to
be reminded that even if the world, and much of the professing church (at least
in the West), has lost its mind, that one or two people, or a small group of
people, can still make a difference.
Faces still
matter, no matter what the color of skin, citizenship status, social or
economic background, intellectual or emotional capacity, religious adherence
(or not), no matter what, no matter what, no matter who…faces still matter –
individuals still matter, they are loved by God in Christ and the possibility
of sainthood lies within the image of God, no matter how defaced.
As I write this
I am reminded of David Wilkinson and Nicky Cruz. While Wilkinson may have gone
off on tangents later in life, he had one thing right in the beginning, that
Jesus loves us. Relying on my fading memory, when Nicky Cruz threatened him
with a switchblade, Wilkinson responded with, ‘Nicky, you can cut me into a thousand
pieces, and every piece will say, ‘Jesus loves you.’”
Wilkinson’s call
to share the Gospel with gangs in New York City made no sense, no sense at all.
People thought he was crazy, and I suppose he was, he was crazy for Jesus and
love for others.
There are things
in Theo of Golden that make no sense, as Pearce Glissen would likely
point out, but they sure make sense to someone like Theo who knows what it is
to have misplaced loves and priorities, and who has learned to look into eyes,
to look at the lines on faces, and see into souls, to see the potential of
saints.
I need a good dose
of compassionate humanity – not the caricature we see in violence and hatred
and vitriol and in worshipping the god of money and possessions and fleeting pleasure.
I need to be reminded of the beauty God has given us in literature, and music,
and art, and acceptance and forgiveness…and within each other.
If you haven’t
yet read Theo of Golden, I hope you will. You can purchase it, and also
learn about its author, at Allen Levi
Love,
Bob
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment