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Working on a talk. The subject is “coming closer to Christ by reaching out to others.” This will not be a missionary or reactivation talk (at least not directly or the way I am preparing it). I want to use several examples of how Jesus reached out to others in his ministry, and while I can come up with some I don’t have time to reread the Gospels to come up with more. Any thoughts or ideas are appreciated. I personally love the story of the crippled man at the Pool of Bethesda. It’s just so sad how he’d been that way for 38 years and no one had helped him down to the pool so he could be healed. Good one AT, thanks. “Other sheep I have that are not of this fold” I think sometimes we focus on our fold, the church members, looking for the lost 1 to the 99, protecting the fold, inviting others to join the fold.
But christ simply just stated he was going to others not in this fold, not trying to convert them all to one fold.
I think we could view more members of our community as sheep we can visit and be with, not just be so mormon-centric only.
Walking on the corn field on the Sabbath. (A personal favorite of mine) All the varied healings he did from Jarius daughter to Peter’s Mom. Not everyone was part of the in crowd.
No strings attached. When he taught, blessed, healed, or just spent time with others he didn’t leave a pass along card or have an disclaimer like, “If I do this for you, you will do this (come to church, have the discussions, take this pamphlet) me.
He dined with sinners and harlots. Both moves were scoffed at. The first by his Jewish host, the second by his disciples (the inner group).
Last of all, people were friends. I always get the feeling that Mary, Martha and Lazarus were his friends. Sometimes he taught, many times I think he went there to enjoy their company. No more than that.
I have talk envy. I would love to take this topic on. You will do fantastic.
mom3 wrote:All the varied healings he did from Jarius daughter to Peter’s Mom. Not everyone was part of the in crowd.
Speaking of Jarius…
Jarius was “a ruler of the synagogue,” so like a bishop or some type of GA or something. Jarius’ only daughter was dying so he asked Jesus to heal her. They get caught up in a throng of people on the way, a woman with an issue of blood reaches out to touch Jesus (maybe reaching the wrong direction for your assigned topic?). We know the story. Jesus could have kept walking, I’m sure Jarius and company felt like the task was urgent, but Jesus takes time to minister to the woman with words. He reached back. I guess Jesus didn’t make it in time because people came up and said, “you know what, don’t bother, the girl is dead.” And we know the rest of that story as well.
Maybe Jesus didn’t have the same sense of urgency because he knew he could raise the girl from the dead (or wake her up). He wasn’t distracted by the urgency or the spirit of defeat that others displayed.
I’d try to bring that story to the present day. What if the bishop asks us to do something
superimportant and we get so caught up in completing the urgent task that we fail to see all the opportunities to minister to people while we’re on the path? Jesus took the time. The quarterly report is not dead, but sleepeth. Maybe it’s a metaphor for life. We’re so busy trying to work out our salvation (our eternal life is on the line!) for our Heavenly Father that we overlook the person in need that is lost in a sea of people we pass each day. They may be reaching out to us but we do not notice because our focus is directed towards a to do list.
Now my common theme that everyone is tired of reading by now. If we’ve taken upon ourselves the name of Jesus, remind me again who needs to reach out to others.
Okay Nibbler Gets an A+ for that analogy. Seriously. My favorite line
Quote:The quarterly report is not dead, but sleepeth.
Amen.
nibbler, I am pretty sure I will use that at some point in a talk and/or lesson. It is brilliant and insightful. Thanks. I hesitated because I felt like I had said something similar a few times already, then Jarius was mentioned.
Thanks Heber, Mom, and Nibbler. I do like the Jarius thing and I’m going to use it. I also like the “no pass along card” idea and the idea that there are other folds. Keep them coming.
nibbler wrote:Maybe Jesus didn’t have the same sense of urgency because he knew he could raise the girl from the dead (or wake her up). He wasn’t distracted by the urgency or the spirit of defeat that others displayed.
…And obviously Hasten the Work hadn’t been invented yet!
😈 DarkJedi wrote:Thanks Heber, Mom, and Nibbler. I do like the Jarius thing and I’m going to use it. I also like the “no pass along card” idea and the idea that there are other folds.
Keep them coming.
To extend the Jarius story even more:
Quote:And her parents were astonished: but he charged them that they should tell no man what was done.
Sounds like the opposite of a pass along card. A keep it to yourself card if you will.
The blind man, the lepers ( think we have a couple of those). Every time his request was “go show your leaders, but tell no one.” I thought about your talk as I drove to church. The woman at the well kept sticking with me. He and his disciples are walking toward the city to get ready for Passover. Jesus was observant of his traditions. Suddenly along the road, he changes course. He tells the others to go on and get everything ready. Then he plops down by a Samaritan well. This is not a Jewish thing to do. And he waits for a woman to come along. Another big no-no. Then he talks to her. Yes he teaches her. He admonishes her. He also inspires and lifts her. She runs to get friends. She wants them to share in the joy. He hangs around for them too. Again, no deals brokered, no calling cards. Yes, she has a husband issue, but even that reminder is more of “its okay, you don’t need to lean on all of them” type comment. He shows her she is valuable, worthy.
Then he moves along. To walk the rest of the dusty miles alone. Nothing was ever more important than lifting another person.
I gave the talk today, thanks for all your help. I used the stories of the Samaritan woman at the well (brought the gospel to people his disciples wouldn’t have associated with), which was actually about a third of the talk because I went into detail about why the Samaritans and Jews didn’t get along – they are both Israelites. (I followed that part with Pres. Uchtdorf’s “stop it” quote.) I also used the stories of the woman taken in adultery (judging, Jesus didn’t condemn her), the man at the pool of Bethesda (someone could have helped him), and the woman who touched Jesus’s garment (she had faith, He recognized that and gave her peace). I summarized by pointing out that Jesus reached out to each of these individuals, even though he was busy and had other things he could be doing and that we encounter each of these types of individuals every day in our lives. I also noted that the Bible lists at least 30 instances of Jesus helping individuals, giving other examples (Peter’s mother-in-law, the man with the withered hand, etc.) and pointing out that Jesus seemed to work with people one on one more than I had previously perceived. I threw in a couple verses about Jesus healing in the BoM (3 Nephi 17) to appease the BoM lovers, quoted Pres. Monson’s “love is the essence of the gospel,” and words from hymn 220, Lord I would Follow Thee (which really is a favorite of mine). It went well. Thanks again for all your help! :thumbup: :clap: :clap: :clap: – I love team work. I wish I could have heard it. Reading your summary was a uplifting.
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