The Doorbell Rang

The doorbell rang. I got up to answer and found two young girls sitting in the hot, mid-day sun on the wall outside the church where my office was located. The one sitting nearest to me asked if there was a priest inside the Church. I explained that no priests were here today and asked if I could help. She asked for a bible. I told her that we had quite a few in my office.

“I want the real one!” she said.

“They are real,” I replied

“I want the original one.” She demanded.

Rather than attempt to explain how we came across our scriptures I diplomatically asked her if she spoke Hebrew, Aramaic or at the least some Greek. She said no and I humbly offered her a New International Version of the bible and told her that at least this one was in English. She said she though that would be okay but asked if could I find something in it that would be helpful to her friend, something about peace. She told me that her friend was struggling with hate and anger, and that she needed something from the original bible to quote to her friend to give her peace. I sat down on the pavement with them and read from Matthew’s gospel:

”Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28)

I explained that Jesus gives us rest for our souls. I asked if I could pray and they said yes. As I was about to pray I noticed that the other girl had scratch marks on her wrists. I asked her about them – she admitted to me that she had been cutting herself. I began to wonder if this was the ‘friend’ the first girl was talking about. I prayed for them and for peace and then shared the good news about Jesus. It seemed a God-appointed conversation and they went away with changed faces and I hoped that this meant that they also had changed hearts.