Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near;?repent, and believe in the good news.”
(Mark 1. 14-15
NRSV)
He borrowed enough money to fly to Africa, and there he purchased a one-way passenger ticket back to the United States aboard The African Star, a cargo ship that sailed from Monrovia, Liberia, to Jacksonville, Florida. Because he understood the physical design of vessels from his Coast Guard career, he was able to sneak at night into one of the ship's unlocked holds. For two nights, after dinner, he crawled into the cavernous, darkened hold. He stripped to his underwear and lay on his back on some broad, thick, rough-sawed timber that had been wedged between sections of cargo to prevent shifting in heavy seas. It was not a pleasant voyage. He had a miserable cold by the third night. By the fourth night he abandoned his Quixotic adventure altogether. He knew that he, a passenger, safe and snug on a strong steel cargo ship, eating three meals daily could never really “feel” the suffering of those chained so many years before in the bowels of a slave ship! Still, he learned many lesions.
We can only speculate as to Christ's reasons for making his way into the world of humanity that first Christmas. Surely, though, sharing with us a common humanity is a possibility. It's always helpful to put yourself even temporarily in someone else's shoes.
Dear God, help me to better sense the needs of those you have sent me to serve. Amen.