The other day I pulled up to a stop light at the intersection of two busy thoroughfares in our city. Heavy traffic travels both north and south, and comes in from the west at this interchange, so the traffic signals can take several minutes to change from red to green.
So, along with the rest of the eastbound traffic waiting for the traffic light to change, I sat in my truck and gazed around at what was taking place around me. Busy cars and trucks buzzing by; lots of activity at a gas station on the corner; a few pedestrians going about their day.
And as I looked out my passenger side window, I noticed a man sitting languidly on a bus stop bench.
I don't want to assume too much, but given his actions, the gentleman seemed to have been partaking in the spirits early that afternoon. But, nonetheless, he seemed in an excellent mood, and he was hailing all the stopped traffic with emphasized waves and hearty "hellos." ... But it didn't seem like he was getting many friendly responses in return.
As the gentleman's attention turned to me, I figure it'd be a shame to waste an opportunity for a friendly interaction. So I waved a hearty hello back to him. ... And I'm telling you, his face it up! ... Evidently, getting folks to engage while they are hustling about in their vehicles must be a tough sell, because he reacted like I was the very first to respond to him.
After my wave, he started signing other universal gestures like thumbs up, hands over his heart and even the gesture of praying hands. And he was having such a good time, I couldn't help but join in the fun myself. I started to return the same signals, and it kind of became a competition to see who could sign more signals of brotherhood than the other. ... It was a hoot!
That's when the guy abruptly stopped, rose to his feet with a serious look on his face, and did a chin flick motion that in many cultures isn't necessarily a warm greeting. In fact, it often is a gesture that means buzz off or worse.
Perplexed ... I stared at the man for a few ticks, and finally decided to copy the chin flick motion, throwing it back to him with an exaggerated motion of my extended fingers. ... And after a few prolonged beats of his own, he burst out laughing with the biggest belly laugh you could imagine. He then straightened up as he began to contain his laughter, and then flashed a big ol' middle finger toward me that made him laugh even harder than he was before. ... So I obliged him again. ... And I swear, you'd think that this man had never seen anything funnier in his life.
After that, he started gesturing all over again, throwing me high fives, and knuckles and crossing his arms in a gesture that looked like a big embrace. He started with the praying hands again, and threw his arms wide above his head staring up at the Creator, that seemed like a gesture of thank you for this moment.
You could just tell from the look on his face that he was having as much fun with this interaction as I was. And I was struck by the beautiful moment that us two spiritual beings in a physical world were having.
Had anyone else witnessed this exchange, they might have thought either (or both!) of us were a couple of tacos short of the value meal. But somehow, in those brief few minutes we shared together, we became friends who likely only will have that one experience together.
But I'll never forget the joy we shared in that short time.
Eventually, the traffic light changed to green, and I need to start pulling away to match the rest of traffic. And as I did, it dawned on me that I never once felt compelled to roll down my passenger side window, which I certainly could have done. After all, there was only about 30 feet from the side of my truck to where the man was sitting on the bench. We could have easily heard each other if we would have just projected our voices a bit.
However, during our silent game of correspondence with my new friend, it never dawned on me to open the window. .... Not once. We were having too much fun communicating through hand gestures and facial expressions!
Several days later, I'm still grateful for the interaction. I'm grateful that God directed my attention to the man on the bench who was just trying to share a little friendliness with the passersby at a busy intersection. And I'm grateful for him, and his joy that he passed along to me on an otherwise mundane weekday afternoon.
Today, as I think about the experience, it reminds me again that we see Christ in the people we meet everyday, and often we don't even know it. ... I don't what brought my friend to the place where he was inebriated on a bus stop bench at 3 in the afternoon, but I will tell you that I am fortunate that he was there. Because he reminded me what it was like to give joy to someone else, even if it's someone you likely will never meet again.
And secondly, he helped me experience what it is like to look into the eyes of a stranger and see Jesus Christ himself. Amen.
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