Significance

"The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted."
- Mother Teresa

Jesus was a busy man. He had a mission to change the world, and he had very little time to do it. His schedule should have been filled with meetings, speaking engagements, and audiences before people of power.

He certainly did speak to crowds wherever he went, but it is surprising how much time the gospel gives to individual encounters with people that weren't movers and shakers. He took time out to encourage a cynical woman drawing water at a well. He stopped for a desperate, abused woman who was healed by touching him when he should have been preaching to the crowd that was following him. He touched a leper to heal him even though Jesus knew that act would force him to quarantine himself for a time. Over and over it seems that Jesus takes time away from his mission to do small things.

But this was his mission, and these acts are why we remember him today. Grand campaigns don't matter. People matter. Causes and movements can gain a life of their own and roll over people--small people, difficult people, people without power, unwanted people.

For Jesus there are no unwanted people. There are people who think they are too important to care for others. There are people who make their faith all about themselves. There are people who try to prove their worth at the expense of others. But there are no insignificant people. We can rule nations, discover cures, or fly to Mars, but if we can't stop to get a glass of water for a thirsty person, then our values are misplaced.

Jesus' approach may have seemed inefficient, but people were Jesus' mission. He stopped for people, he gave them time, he listened to them, and touched them. He showed people they were worth his time. In doing that, he met their deepest need. He let them know they were wanted.