Squish
squish went the mud between my toes. As we trudged through the thick, mud trenches
of cassava fields, I reflected on the parallels between our humble farming and
the similar “dirty work” of Jesus in ancient Galilee. Carrying a basket full of
cassava sticks to be planted, I fought to stay on my feet as they got stuck or
hit the side of the cassava mounds. Trying to place the sticks about 20 inches
apart, it seemed like I was hastily wiping the sweat off my face every few
feet, trying unsuccessfully to keep up pace with the local Thai farmer who was
gliding without difficulty through the thick mud. There was hardly a moment
when I wasn’t grateful for this grunt work though, always keeping in mind that
our efforts were cutting off at least 4 days of work that families who owned
the land would otherwise have to do. When you know that you being covered in dirt
and sweat equates to more time for poor farmers to enjoy their lives, it’s easy
to smear the mud on your face and keep a huge smile. More often than we may
realize, building God’s kingdom requires us to get our hands dirty.
It
has always fascinated me to hear the different ways that people picture Jesus. From
the man on the Cross, the Good Shepherd, or a teacher, to the healer, miracle
worker, or Risen Christ, there’s a plethora of ways that we can identify with
Jesus. Do we ever think of Him as someone who “gets His hands dirty,” though?
Most of the pictures we see of Jesus are of Him with flowing dark hair and a
white robe. How would it change our efforts to exemplify Him if we focused more
on His consistent willingness throughout the Gospels to get messy for the sake
of the Kingdom?
Out of His passion to help individuals
be healed both physically and spiritually, and to empower the community of God
to break free from physical and spiritual chains of oppression, Jesus crossed,
and embraced others that crossed, numerous boundaries of His religio-cultural
world. Whether it was touching lepers, using spit and mud to heal the blind,
and blessing the faith of a hemorrhaging woman who touched him for healing, or
hanging out with the poor, prostitutes, and tax collectors (the “sinners” of
His day) and standing against the injustices of the temple and ruling elite, both
in word and deed, Jesus wasn’t afraid to “get His hands dirty” for His Father’s
kingdom. Neither physical unpleasantness nor cultural/societal marginalization
and persecution, even to the point of being arrested, beaten, and killed, could
slow down the train of Jesus’ passion to bring about the reign of God in our
world. Can we say the same for our generation?
Although
it’s galaxies away from being on the level of Jesus’ experiences of dirty
Kingdom jobs, I still felt vibrant solidarity with Jesus as we plodded through
the mud of the cassava fields… I believed He was walking with us, both in
Spirit and in the bodies of the Thai farmers that were in the thick of it with
us, just like He is every other day of their lives. In Jesus’ examples, it was
never just the actual event where He got “dirty” that marked the power of the
love He offered. The hope in the future accumulation of positive transformation
to come after those moments held the real limitless potential for His love’s
impact on people’s lives. For example, of course the man healed of leprosy
would have been ecstatic in the event of his cleansing, but the fuller blessing
was to come later when he would be restored to his community and family from
which his leprosy had most likely forced him to be shunned. Similarly, it hasn’t
been in the hours of getting grimy for God that I expect to see the fruit we
hope for the people of Kanchanaburi. I believe our work is an extension of our
contacts’ love and friendship to these people and will heighten their awareness
of something “different” about these Thai Christians in their community. There
is no doubt that, besides thinking we’re just straight up crazy, these locals have
some curiosity about why we are here, why we joyfully join them in their muddy
work. We get dirty now so God can make His/Her kingdom come through our
contacts’ relationships later. I didn’t realize, however, it would get even “messier”
until we spent a few days shoveling, bagging, and spreading goat poop as
fertilizer! Looking back on Jesus being anointed with perfume by the sinful
woman (Luke 7:37), I guess in an opposite sense, messy kingdom work can have a
pungent smell to it as well!
So
I leave you to ponder if God is asking you to do something messy to make
His/Her Kingdom a reality in your community. Like I said, it doesn’t need to be
something physically dirty. Maybe God is asking you to be willing to let your
reputation or status get a little messy. Jesus crossed into culturally
forbidden territory to offer God’s universal love and grace to many whom His
society thought weren’t worthy of it, or had just plain forgotten. Who are the “sinners,”
prostitutes, tax collectors, and forgotten of our day? Is it the person at your
work, school, or team that others see as weird? What about homosexuals, Muslims,
prisoners and ex-cons, homeless people, or drug addicts? Although we might not
have a recognized class of “untouchables” in our society like India does, it
exists, and many people in the categories I’ve mentioned and others know it and
live under its umbrella of shame everyday. If you want to encounter more of
Jesus in your life, I promise you will find Him among such people. Jesus’
Kingdom construction plan during His life was as socially and culturally “messy”
as it gets. Maybe our blueprints, as well as the Church’s, need to be messed up
a bit. So take off your gloves; it’s time to get our hands dirty.
