"He Reached Out and Touched the Man"

He Was Willing, Are You?

I was shopping in the marketplace that day,
It wasn’t much different except in one special way,

A crowd was moving slowly down the street,
They weren’t unruly, but I rose to my feet,

From my left I saw a man limp aimlessly as though he couldn’t see,
He was going to cross right in front of me.
I cringed and I shuddered as I saw he had leprosy.

He was huddled over so that few could tell
But when he glanced up I glimpsed his hell.
What he saw I couldn’t tell . . .

The cloud of dust had caught his attention,
He began to walk in earnest in that direction,
Limping, clamoring, and nearly running.

As he reached the crowd they all stopped.
Before I could move, the man had dropped,
Onto his knees he fell
Then it happened just as they tell.

The street became quiet and a hush calmed the crowd,
As a hand stretched out from the dust and said out loud,
“I am willing,” “I am willing”
Then it happened . . . just as they say.

Someone reached out and touched the man.
Touched him how no one else can.
He was ugly and alone, crippled and banned,
Jesus reached out with effort to extend His Hand.
That’s how it happened just as He planned.


written 03-15-1998
by Russell E. Olson, Sr. Lk 5:13