c. 1996 Religion News Service

(Dale Hanson Bourke is the author of”Turn Toward the Wind”and publisher of Religion News Service.)

UNDATED _ The Metro train roared by the assembled morning commuters, screeching to a stop as we inched our way toward the edge of the platform. A door opened directly in front of me and as I hopped on to the train I saw the one open seat on the car.

I moved deliberately toward it, pleased at the good fortune that would give me the chance to read my newspaper without acrobatic maneuvers. I slid into the seat, pulled out my paper, and settled in for a pleasant ride to work.”Good morning,”said the man sitting next to me.

I smiled toward him, surprised by his greeting. The subway rules of etiquette generally preclude talking except for the occasional”excuse me”needed to elbow your way through the crowd. I wasn’t about to encourage conversation.

I was halfway through the front page when his voice startled me again.”Lots of bad news today, isn’t there?” I glanced toward him, sizing him up. He looked normal enough. Didn’t appear to be a tourist.”Uh huh,”I responded.

I was feeling guilty for being so rude when he launched in once more.”I can’t imagine what people do who have no hope,”he said. I must have looked confused, because he rushed on to explain himself.”Yes, once I had no hope myself. And then I found the answer …” People were beginning to look at us over their newspapers as the man’s voice rose. I knew they thought I was guilty of encouraging him.”It says in Romans 3:23, `For all have sinned …'” For the first time I realized that the man was trying to witness to me. Did I look particularly sinful this morning? As his voice grew louder I realized that he was nervous, feeling compelled to walk me through the Bible before the train stopped and I escaped to a lost life.”Wait a minute,”I said.”I know.””Yes, many people know with their head,”he said.”But unless you know in your heart …””No. I mean I know that verse. I mean …” I tried to find a way to let the man down gently. To thank him for his efforts but to let him know that he could save his breath. People were staring at us now and he was breaking into a sweat as he tried to talk more quickly over my protests.

Then I heard the conductor announce the next station _ my stop. At least a dozen people stood between me and the door. I’d have to move quickly.”I have to go,”I said to the man.”Thanks very much,”I said lamely as I stood to leave the train.

But he wasn’t about to give up on me. He called to my back as I left the train,”The wages of sin is death …” A woman smirked as I inched by her.

I stood on the platform for a moment as the train roared off, trying to sort my feelings. I knew the man meant well; that he had hoped to share his faith with me and change my life. But I already believed and his unwillingness to hear me was frustrating.

And yet I also wondered if maybe I was missing something.

Day after day I sit next to strangers on the subway. Some look unhappy, even desperate. If I really believed, maybe I should be acting more like the man. Maybe his words would have been a lifeline for someone who was searching. Maybe I should be acting more like a lunatic and less like a polite commuter.

Later that day, I began to look up in my Bible one of the verses the man had quoted and I paused to read some of the accounts of Jesus interacting with strangers.”Do you want to get well?”Jesus asks the man who cannot walk.”Why do you call me good?”he asks the rich young ruler.”Will you give me a drink?”he asks the Samaritan woman at the well.

In almost every case, Jesus asks a question and then he pauses to listen. Even though he knew he had the answer to the person’s pain, he offered each individual the opportunity to choose. Jesus was never in a hurry to tell; he always had time to ask.

I thought again about the man on the subway and realized how different our encounter would have been if he simply had asked instead of told. And then I thought about so many encounters people have over issues related to faith and beliefs. Very few, it seems, start with sincere questions.

During this holy season for Christians it is natural to proclaim and preach a little more to a world that seems increasingly secular. But perhaps instead of being in such a hurry to tell, Christians should follow Jesus’ example and take more time to ask. In doing so, we might learn more about each other and about the one whose birth we celebrate.

MJP END BOURKE