The Beauty of Being Present

My friend Ed Cyzewski asked me to be a part of a blog tour on a new commentary on the Gospel of Matthew. I don’t normally read Bible commentaries with the idea of reviewing them, and I don’t think I’ve read too many of them cover to cover. But when The Gospel of Matthew: God With Us showed up on my doorstep I was intrigued.

Most commentaries fall into either a scholarly exploration or a spiritual application genre. This series, called Resonate and published by IVP is something different – a new kind of commentary genre. Leonard Sweet describes it this way, “What a novel and glorious experience to be reading a meditation which becomes an exegesis which becomes a devotional which becomes a homily—all in the space of a few pages.”

Paul Metzger, the Executive Editor of Resonate shares the purpose of the new series:

The aim of the Resonate series is to provide spiritual nourishment that is biblically sound, theologically orthodox and culturally significant. The form each volume in the series will take is that of an extended essay—each author writing about a biblical book in an interactive, reflective and culturally engaging manner.

That works for me.

I decided to figure out what Matt Woodley, the author of this volume saw as the overarching theme of this Gospel. The information sheet packed with the book gave it away.

Authentic relationships require personal presence. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus shows up and offers us God’s personal presence.

This introduction grabbed me. Since Ed gave me permission to pick my own section to review, I went for one that spoke directly to this theme—The Beauty of Being Present, Matthew 8:1-17, 28-34.

There are four stories of healing in this passage—a leper, the centurion’s servant, Peter’s mother-in-law, and two men who were full of demons. Woodley looks at Jesus’ ministry to these individuals through the lens of the broken people in his own world. Jesus took his message, his physical presence, and his touch to people who were the outcasts. Jewish laws forbid men from connecting with those that were considered outsiders including the sick, the possessed, Gentiles, and any woman that wasn’t their wife. Jesus’ actions in these stories paint a much different picture of what is in God’s heart for people.

Woodley points out, “Jesus didn’t merely focus on curing illnesses and treating symptoms. Instead he offered his personal presence and healing power, demonstrating that the long-awaited kingdom had arrived.”

The author shares his own stories of people who are broken, sick and lonely and discusses how he applies what he has learned about being present. I enjoyed his writing style and his heart and it made me hungry to read more of this commentary. This book is going into my devotional pile, something I’ve never done with another commentary.

*****

I’ve been reflecting this past week on this topic. Here are a few random thoughts I’ve had about being present for someone.

• You can be physically present with someone but remain emotionally distant.
• Listening is a very caring act of being present.
• Eye contact is a way to practice being present with someone.
• Touch is a highly precious gift of healing and care. It can be abused, so one must be cautious, but to shelf it would be wasting a significant gift that God gave us.
• Presence sometimes means slowing down and spending time.
• Presence often includes a meal.
• The gift of presence can be experienced even when two people aren’t side by side. Cards, letters, emails, texts and phone calls can be beautiful ways to be with someone.

What are other things you have learned about the gift of presence?