Just Your Average Joe

August 29, 2021

Joe thought of himself as pretty average.

He was anything but.

Joe could dress up in his finest and hob knob with the Rockefellers (and look mighty good doing it). He was equally as comfortable in overalls and work boots, stamping death dates onto tombstones, clearing debris from creek waters, or kicking a path through the woods. Joe could wear a pair of button fly Levi’s, checkered shirt and fancy cowboy boots and auction off anything you might try to sell. He’d dress up, spray on his “smell-em-good”, and pull out my chair for me at The Angus Barn. He’d dress down, kick the mud off his boots and discuss world affairs at Jackie’s grill in Seven Springs. He could talk politics, religion, philosophy and current hog prices (often in the same conversation). He was about as well-read as any human I have ever known. He couldn’t remember a birthday to save his life, but he could trace your ancestry back at least 1,000 years right off the top of his head. He was a Boy Scout, a true southern gentleman, a singer, a comedian, a teacher, a preacher and more.

He was extraordinary, but at his core, Joe wanted to be known as a common man….as just your average Joe. This week, his lesson is about the way Jesus interacted with the world as a common man, when he was anything but.

He wrote:

Common Man

We loaded up Thursday night and went to the Paramount Theater to see one of my favorite singers—Mr. John Conlee.  He had several hits, such as “Rose Colored Glasses”;“Lady Lay Down”; “The Backside of Thirty” ; “Friday Night Blues”; “Ms. Emily’s Picture”;“Common Man”…and the list goes on and on.  

The song “Common Man” is what I’d like to talk about this morning.  John’s voice was good, but not perfect—it has been described as melancholy. He is not particularly good looking. As a matter of fact, he is really very short.  

He is average, which is probably why he appealed to the common man.  He talked about working, raising a family, simple things, etc. That’s why folks like me like folks like John Conlee.

There is another man who came here to appeal to the common working man. In describing this man, the Bible says, “ The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” in John 1:14. I read the analogy that if Jesus had worn a shirt, it would have had a blue collar.

He continually ruffled the feathers of the elite. He healed a man and a woman on the Sabbath. He criticized the community leaders interpretation of the law, and often refused to debate these leaders or give them straight answers. Being a follower of Jesus didn’t require any special credentials or education, and you didn’t have to be wealthy or important.  What He said and what He did appealed to common, ordinary folks.  

Out of the 132 contacts He had with people, four were in a synagogue, six were in a temple and 122 were out in public.  He wanted to be with common folks.  He used simple, everyday language and spoke the truth; therefore, the common people gladly heard him.  Mark 12:37 says, “…The large crowd listened to him with delight.”  

He reached out to a woman possessed by a demon, a man infected with leprosy, a woman who had committed adultery, etc.  When told not to bother with children, He chastised the people and continued to focus on the young.  He grew up in the home of a carpenter, in a town of no great renown.  He could have had everything and He chose to be poor.  At the end of His life, those He knew and those who knew Him were the very ones who turned their backs on Him. He was treated as if he was just a common man, when He was actually anything but.

Jesus was sent by his father for you and for me and anyone we come in contact with that will welcome Him into their heart and receive His salvation.  So, as we go out into the world this week, let’s walk in His example of humility and meekness as we love each other with a servant’s heart.

-JMP

On March 13, 2020, our school’s Bible Club (known as Rally) met for the last time before Covid shut down the world. I had no idea when I watched those students file out of the building that we would not reunite as a group again for almost 18 months.

Thankfully, though, this past Friday we were FINALLY able to meet again! It was WONDERFUL to see so many teenagers gathered together in the name of Jesus. Grace, one of our student leaders, spoke to the group about what it looks like to be a Christian at school. Most of the group agreed that high school is not always the easiest place to be a witness for Jesus. However, they also agreed that sitting in a classroom club meeting at the end of the day on Friday wasn’t exactly being a witness, either. Being a Christian at school means letting people see Jesus where THEY are…in the hallways, on the bus, in the cafeteria and in the classroom.

Being a teacher is sometimes like being a Christian witness. Most anyone can teach the “good” kids. The students who come to school with full tummies from happy homes where they have been taught morals and values are typically pretty easy to educate. Sometimes, the parents have done the hardest part for the teacher. But the teacher who can reach the “other” kids…the ones who walk in with ALL kinds of baggage, who don’t trust adults because they have been hurt or abused by them, the ones who are hungry or mean or both, the ones who don’t have a strong academic or emotional foundation, the ones who struggle for whatever reason…well, those teachers are the GOOD ones, in my opinion.

But just like you can’t teach a kid if you don’t meet them where they are, you can’t show people Jesus if you don’t meet them where they are, either. And while I firmly believe that Jesus is to be found within the confines of the church walls, I also know that we spend many more hours a day out in the world than we do inside the church.

He reached out to a woman possessed by a demon, a man infected with leprosy, a woman who had committed adultery, etc.  When told not to bother with children, He chastised the people and continued to focus on the young.  He grew up in the home of a carpenter, in a town of no great renown.  He could have had everything and He chose to be poor. 

One of Joe’s most endearing qualities was his ability to interact with all types of people. In his role as a funeral director, he typically interacted with people when they were far from their “best”. Yet, he was the calm, assured voice of reason in a time of true need, and above all else, he interacted with them in a manner that brought them comfort and in a way that maintained their sense of dignity. It was much more than a job to Joe. It was an opportunity to serve others and love on them in a true time of need.

I don’t think Joe realized, at the time, that he was the hands and feet of Jesus in his daily work. But he was. From the care he provided to the families, to the tender, meticulous attention given to the preparation of a body before a funeral service, Joe showed love, kindness and compassion. He met people where they were…even when it wasn’t a very pretty place.

I don’t think we realize the power we hold to be the hands and feet of Jesus in our daily lives. All day every day, we encounter people who need the love of Jesus. And while we should show love to EVERYONE, maybe showing love to those who make it difficult might be a more effective way to witness? I know, I know…it is so hard to love those who seem unlovable. I also know that, in the past nine months, the strangers I encountered on a daily basis had absolutely no idea how hard I was trying to hold it together. Maybe I was rude. Maybe I was angry. Maybe I was unlovable. I was also broken in a way that could be fixed only by the sweet love of Jesus. And people loved on me when I wasn’t very lovable. It was that love that made me know that Jesus would be the way I made it through those hard days and every day since.

I guess the bottom line is that you just don’t ever know why somebody behaves the way they do…and it’s not your job to understand it. It is simply your job to be the hands and feet of Jesus and let Him handle the rest.

Jesus was sent by his father for you and for me and anyone we come in contact with that will welcome Him into their heart and receive His salvation.  So, as we go out into the world this week, let’s walk in His example of humility and meekness as we love each other with a servant’s heart.

The night Joe went to be with Jesus was one of the most bittersweet moments of my life. Joe’s work as a faithful servant came full circle when his dear friends, Lynn Taylor and Thomas Rouse of Rouse Funeral Home arrived at my home to provide the service Joe had provided for so many others. They were the calm, assured voice of reason in my most desperate time of need. They closed the door to the room where Joe’s precious body laid, and with the tenderness and compassion that is found in the hands of true friends and Jesus, they prepared Joe to go through our back door one last time. It took them a long time. I later learned that it was because of the great care they took to clean Joe up and give him the dignified exit he would have given to them, had the situation been reversed.

Sometimes, death isn’t very pretty. Sometimes, life ain’t so pretty either. But thank God for the people on this earth who are willing to meet us where we are, to be the hands and feet of Jesus until we meet Him face to face. Who are those people? My sweet friend, it’s me. My sweet friend, it’s you, too. Just like Lynn and Thomas, we have the precious responsibility to love on the people around us, to show them the love of Jesus with humble heart of a servant.

When you love on people with the love of Jesus, you find out that there’s really no such thing as “just your average Joe”. My Joe was anything but average. He was extraordinary. Both to me and to Jesus. And sweet, sweet friend, so are you. ❤️

-Words of Wisdom from The Book of Joe