I am aways wary of old
tweezers.
Sometimes, I am suspicious of old
geezers.
But it's really the old
sneezers that frighten me.
She's usually there on the late
night shift.
On the rare occasion that I find
myself in the grocery store after 11pm,
it's just her and her cash
register.
Produce people have long since
gone home,
deli workers are far away from
their meat slicers,
and bakers are nestled in
bed
dreaming about their next recipes.
It's just
her.
For 8 hours,
she's the keeper of the
castle,
matriarch of the
manor,
grand lady of the
grocery.
She looks to be about
143.
She always appears to be lacking
energy,
but who doesn't at
11:45pm?
Her words are
few.
Her body is thin and
frail.
Her hair is
unkempt.
Each move is slow and
deliberate.
I rarely say much to
her
as it appears she'd rather work in
silence.
But this night was
different.
I was just starting a week-long
vacation
and I was filled with
excitement.
As I approached the
checkout,
I noticed that she had a
cold.....
a bad
cold.
Her eyes were
watery,
Her nose was
runny,
and her breathing was
heavy.
I looked to see if I had any other
options....
there were no other checkout lines
open.
The self-checkout line had long
since closed for the night.
She was the
gatekeeper,
the lone
gatekeeper.
I had prided myself on getting
this far into the season,
without getting
sick,
quite a feat when you work in a
church at Christmas......
but here she
was,
my sternest test to
date.
I had five
items.
I thought about holding my
breath,
but I knew my lungs couldn't make
it through
the weighing of
produce.
Purell was nowhere to be found
anywhere
and disinfectant sheets were at
the entrance,
not the exit of the
store.
No, it
was me and Miss Influenza.,
face to
infection,
customer against cold
sore,
man against
malady.
I didn't have a
chance.
I said a prayer as I handed her my
rewards card.....
that would be the hand that held
several moist, crumpled
tissues.
She handed it
back.
It was at this moment that I
wished I had tweezers.
I was
doomed.
She grabbed the
grapes.....
She sneezed over the
snacks.
She coughed on the
cupcakes.
She wheezed at the whipping
cream.
I was already mentally planning
a post midnight hosedown
of all grocery items
when I returned
home.
Realizing that I had stared
directly into the eyes of disease,
I threw in the
towel
and grabbed a final
item........
some nasal
spray,
conveniently available at the
checkout.
I had a feeling that by the end of
my vacation,
I was going to be needing
it.
We run the other
direction
at that thought of catching a
cold or flu bug.
No one wants to be
sick,
When the flu season
arrives,
we become more aware of things
that are spread.
I did come down with a cold by the
last few days of my vacation.
But I had the comforts of a warm
home to recuperate.
Unlike my elderly
cashier,
I did not have to work a night
shift
while not feeling
well.
I am sure there could be many
theological discussions
about whether or not Jesus would
catch a cold,
in the years when he walked this
earth.
He certainly didn't shy away from
contagious people.
Lepers and laity alike were
welcomed into His presence.
It could be argued that since He
is Lord over all infirmities,
He didn't run the risk of
infection.
But my perception of my
Lord
sees Him coughing and
sneezing
as He takes on ALL the infirmities
of mankind.
Whether
or not you can envision a sneezing
Jesus,
can you envision a Lord who lovingly
embraces
all who are sick and
diseased,
essentially all of
humanity?
I don't think Jesus bothered with
disenfectant wipes and antibiotic
lotions.
Whether or not He needed them on
this earth
isn't the crucial
point.
What is crucial is that the great
gatekeeper of heaven's doors
is willing to embrace the sick
and the dying.
And He asks His
followers,
sick and diseased as they
are,
to do the
same.
May you embrace those who sneeze
through your life,
as your Lord loving takes on your
infirmities.
ANd He called the twelve together and
gave them power
and authority over all demons and to
cure diseases,
and He sent them out to mpreach the
kingdom of God, and to heal.
Luke
9:2
.
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