Strangers On A Bus.

 The bus was packed and I found myself sitting next to a woman I didn’t know.  ‘Busy bus,’ I said.  She nodded agreement and that I thought would be that.  But then we passed an incident on the pavement.  Two police officers were dealing with two kids who looked to be around twelve years of age.  The woman muttered something about too many kids these days being out of control, and somehow that seemed to open a door for her to tell me something of her own troubles.

I couldn’t make out everything she was saying.  The bus was noisy.  Kids again!  Bur I caught her drift.  She was looking after an elderly relative who was quite demanding and needed constant attention. She received some help from carers but it was off and on and not enough to make a real difference.  Today she had managed to get a few hours to herself and had done some shopping in Paisley.  

This was all unloaded on a complete stranger but it was obvious she needed someone to listen.  It made we wonder how many people we come up against in the course of a day who are carrying burdens and have difficulty coping.  A great Christian theologian wrote about the gospels having ‘the ring of truth.’  And they chime a familiar note in Jesus’ encounters with troubled men and women and His response to them.  The centurion caring for a sick servant,  Jairus and his critically ill daughter, the Canaanite woman and her demon-possessed daughter. These are just a few examples.  And Jesus’ response is always the same.  When he saw a woman mourning the loss of her son we are told that ‘his heart went out to her.’  (Luke 7: 14).  There is no reason to believe that His response would be any different to any burdened people.  

The conversation on the bus lasted less than ten minutes which is not much time too be with someone so dispirited.   What is left is to pray that being present, listening and offering some words of encouragement will make a difference and perhaps move her to find some more continuous support.  

But I go back to the thought that there are so many like my stranger on the bus to whom the words of Jesus might bring the ultimate assurance:

‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.’  (Matthew 11: 28)