Let us not forget that the Lord is listening to our small whispers. He hears us in our meekest voice in the midst of all the chaos going on around us.
If you were to spend even a single hour at Ciudad de Gracia, you would see inclusion. You would see the desperate desire of the staff to bring lost people to Christ-no matter where they come from. If you were to spend even a single hour at Ciudad, you would see a visual picture of Luke 8.
A while ago I was reading Luke 8 when I came across the passage about the Bleeding Woman (verses 43-48).
“A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding, and she could find no cure. Coming up behind Jesus, she touched the fringe of his robe. Immediately, the bleeding stopped. ‘Who touched me?’ Jesus asked. Everyone denied it, and Peter said, ‘Master, this whole crowd is pressing up against you.’ But Jesus said, ‘Someone deliberately touched me, for I felt healing power go out from me.’ When the woman realized that she could not stay hidden, she began to tremble and fell to her knees in front of him. The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched him and that she had been immediately healed. ‘Daughter,’ he said to her, ‘your faith has made you well. Go in peace.'”
I can only imagine what this woman felt like. She had been suffering from illness for a long time, and not just any illness, but one that brought her shame and made her community see her as “less than”. This woman was desperate for healing and knew that Jesus was the only one who could do so and would do so. She was not accepted by her community because of her situation. She was rejected and her opinions were not valued. She was considered “less than”, an outcast.
Now imagine for a second the crowds that were upon Jesus at this time. I imagine the biggest, standing room only, concert of my life with people pressed up against me on all sides. I imagine it being so loud I can’t hear myself think. When I think of this passage I imagine Jesus being in the middle of this loud, swarming crowd of people who are all yelling His name. It always amazes me when I read verse 45. Somehow over the screaming crowds surrounding Him, Jesus heard the still, small voice of this hurting, rejected woman. With hands pressing towards Him on all sides, He still felt the gentle touch of her quivering hand. In this moment of pure insanity, Jesus heard the whisper of this disregarded woman.
And this is exactly what I think of when I am at Ciudad de Gracia. The community at Ciudad is Latino, mostly immigrants in the community of Albuquerque. By many in their community, they are seen just as the bleeding woman was – “less than”. They are not viewed by many around them as having an opinion. They are not seen as important, but yet in the midst of a crowded, loud world, Jesus has heard their cry for help. He does not view them as less than – but equals. He finds them worthy to pursue the kingdom of God just like anyone else. This is Ciudad’s goal, to take broken people that Jesus is transforming and send them to reflect God’s glory and establish His kingdom in Albuquerque and wherever they go.
Let us not forget that the Lord is listening to our small whispers. He hears us in our meekest voice in the midst of all the chaos going on around us. He hears us when the world may see us as “less than”. He hears our Latino brothers and sisters who are experiencing this right now. The insanity we are in is never too loud for Him to not hear us over it. So speak daughter, speak son, for your Father is anticipating your small whisper.
