“I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.”
1 Corinthians 9:22 (NIV)
Yesterday was Palm Sunday, the start of the holiest week on the Christian calendar. It’s also still Ramadan, the month long holiest Muslim holiday. Yesterday was also a Jewish holiday called Purim. Since I serve as one of volunteers for the chaplain department at the hospital, they occasionally ask me if I would escort a rabbi on a Jewish holiday, helping him to find the patient rooms on his list of people to visit. The Purim holiday comes from the Bible story, about Queen Esther and how she was in the right place at the right time to save her people from genocide.
I was scheduled to meet a Rabbi at the hospital yesterday, but instead of meeting one Rabbi, I met two nice young men in their early twenties, who were in training to become Rabbis. Their visitation in hospitals and Nursing Homes is all part of their clinical training. It was an honor to help two young men who have dedicated their careers to serve God through their faith.
They both had beards and wore black hats. I could see the Tzitzit, extending below their shirts, which are the fringes or tassels worn by observant males, in Orthodox Judaism. The laws of Moses required that every male wear those tassels at the corners of his garments as a reminder of the bond between God and Israel. As I glanced at the tassels, I thought of the woman in the gospel who touched the fringe of Jesus’ garment and was healed.
For the Purim holiday, their patient visits consisted of briefly telling each patient the story of Esther, singing a few Jewish songs and then giving them a gift of chocolates and other items.
I showed them how to put on the protective equipment, including masks and gloves if required, in order to enter each patient room on their list. I waited in the hallway outside each room, until they were ready to be taken to the next patient. Each patient enjoyed their visit and all that they did for them.
The two men carried with them a big rolled up parchment scroll, that contained the whole Bible story of Queen Esther, hand written in Hebrew. If anyone wanted, they would read the entire scroll to them in Hebrew. No one wanted the scroll read to them, but they all welcomed the prayers, the songs and the chocolates.
I enjoyed seeing how the Purim customs are observed. I’m probably a little extreme compared to most, in my interest in the Jewish culture. In the 1980’s I learned the Hebrew alphabet and taught myself how to read it, prior to my trip to the Holy land.
After the young men finished visiting all the people on their list, they wanted to show me the rare scroll with the hand written story of Esther. They had carried it around all day, but never opened it. On a table in the chaplain office, they unrolled the scroll to show it to me. It was about 4 feet long, all hand written in Hebrew, by a professional Hebrew scribe.
There are expert scribes today, whose only job is to write Hebrew scriptures on a scroll. They allowed me to touch it as they told me how rare the parchment of that quality was. They said that the value of that sacred scroll was about $1,500. I thought of the gospel account where Jesus opened up a scroll in the temple, read it and then proclaimed Himself to be the Messiah, the one mentioned in that scripture.
I decided to have a little fun with the students, so I began sounding out the Hebrew words starting from right to left, and I was able to read out loud the first line of the scroll. It blew their minds, and they looked at each other in amazement. I laughed, telling them I can read Hebrew but I don’t always know what I’m reading. They were impressed that I knew enough Hebrew to read their sacred Hebrew scroll. We then thanked each other for a great day together and said our good byes.
I talked to God about it afterward saying, “Lord, I wasn’t trying to brag, but you know how much I love the language of your people, and I just couldn’t resist reading that scroll.”
The words that came to my mind were, “We become all things to all people, that by all means, we might save some.” I knew in that moment, that it was to be the scripture for today’s meditation.
Paul wrote those inspiring words, because he became all things to all people, by embracing other cultures. People will be more open to honor our faith in Jesus, when we first honor theirs. Everyone wants respect, and there is more than enough hatred and division in the world today. I hope and pray that those “Rabbis to be”, will understand that there are Christian people who respect their faith, language and culture, because it also belongs to our Lord and Savior.
Lord, show us how we can become all things to all people, so that we may leave an impression of you, so that by any means possible, you will save some. Amen