They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but- “arf, arf!”- here are a couple of bow-wows who have broken new ground of late.
Martha and I have adopted a new habit. It began this fall as we were driving along. Martha was sharing some insightful comment with me. I, of course, was all ears. But suddenly, a thing of beauty appeared on the left side of the road, a gloriously bedecked tree, flaunting its coat of vibrant colors, a visual treat not to be missed. It was approaching our field of view very quickly. Martha’s story was progressing, but obviously, it was not about to end in the next 3 seconds. What to do?
I felt like the guy in the McDonald’s commercial, you know, the one who is put on the spot by his lady. She is appalled that her sister’s boyfriend thinks Sundays are just for watching football. Quickly, he considers all the dire consequences that could come about if he responds in the wrong way, then smartly –just as he has done with his menu selections- he comes up with the answer: “He’s a jerk!” She smiles. Crisis averted.
Back in my dilemma, I waffled between interrupting Martha’s story and redirecting her to the tree in milliseconds of time, or just letting the tree pass.
I think the Lord must have seen this as a desperate prayer from me, because, without even thinking about it, as if some heavenly messenger had grabbed my appendage, my arm swept sideways across my chest, starting at Martha’s eye and ending with outstretched palm towards the bejeweled tree. It worked beautifully. The new gesture was almost as beautiful as the tree!
Ever since that day of “The Gesture,” we have been gesturing at all the fall sights around us. We hardly use words anymore! Her arm goes out as if, “I present to you one of God’s glorious sights!” My arm nods back, and the beauty is acknowledged. In fact, words seem to cheapen the sight. Rarely can we come up with adequate descriptions of the splendor of the passing foliage. But The Gesture; it simply presents the sight for what it is. No words necessary.
What a gift! We stumbled upon “The Gesture.” It directed Martha to the tree without completely interrupting her story.
I think Jesus used The Gesture too. Sometimes he would gesture at a flower, a tree, a prostitute, a little child, a widow. Oh, we have a few words recorded about the events, but it was mostly about his gesture towards the sight he wanted people to see. I think particularly of the widow dropping her little bit of nothing into the temple treasury box. I can see Jesus smiling broadly, his arm reaching out, lifting up that woman’s act of love.
I wonder if we should be gesturing more in our daily lives. Wouldn’t it be something if, every time we saw an act of love, or heard a note of wisdom, we simply held out our palm towards the person, thus saying to others, “Wasn’t that a beautiful thing that just happened here?” It might even have been as beautiful as a crimson tree on a sunny fall day!
After all, if you’re driving along and accidentally cut in front of another driver, that driver may very well give you a gesture, a gesture of disapproval. Why should all the angry people get all the gestures? Why not, as people of faith, claim The Gesture, and use it for good?
I think our world could use a few less words and a few more gestures of the Jesus kind. If you see me gesturing when next we meet, I haven’t gone crazy. I’m simply in awe of an act of beauty I have just seen, maybe from you!
Finally, I apologize for all these words; sometimes you just can’t get around ‘em. Still, if I can get my head on straight and my actions aligned with my intentions, I’ll be letting “The Gesture” do some of my talking. Sometimes, no words are needed!
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