4.05.2010

Beyond the brick walls.

In my life I've lived near many cities. Providence is up in the ranking of one of the coolest cities. Occasionally in the mailbox, we get this orange slip telling us to go and pick something up from the post office. It annoys me, because usually it's not something really important. Most of the time its mail that has bounced back. However I still have to make my way down to the center of city and pick up whatever that was undeliverable. About a 15 minute walk from the church to post office, through the center of this magnificent brick filled city.
Today I had the chance to go again. Luckily it's a nice day. It's amazing what you can experience outside the walls of the church. I had my headphones on, so I walked in my own world, but as I walked by some random people, I wondered where they were going or coming from? Why were they sitting on benches in the park? Why the girl insisted to smoke right outside her office building where it says to not smoke? Then I thought to myself, I chose to have headphones on, I chose to not talk to anyone as I strolled, I chose to not hear anything from anyone, I chose to remain not known.
Today being the day after Easter, I was bewildered that I chose to remain to myself after knowing and even preaching about the resurrection yesterday. The disciples didn't go back to their regular routine after they saw the resurrected Christ. They got to work spreading about Christ. And here I was leaving the confines and 'safe haven' of church and remaining to my own world. Very similar to other weekly Mondays, the day after church we're back to our own worlds, with our headphones on, wanting to remain unknown. Where's my work mindset? Gosh, Jesus has been resurrected, enough said. People I came across on my stroll, should at least hear it, if they didn't hear it yesterday. My boldness has turned into shyness? Beyond the brick walls of our church exists the world that needs to hear past the white colored headphones that Jesus has been resurrected. Imagine the impact I could have had if I just opened my mouth to the hundreds of people I saw walk pass me. Some maybe homeless, some sojourning through the Ocean state, and maybe some 'lost.'