Bless Those Who Curse You.

Bless and do not curse. That's what Paul wrote. Incidentally, this is the single truth about Christianity and a life following Jesus that I find to be the most offensive and difficult. Is it not good enough just to hold my peace and not curse people who are rude to me? No?! I have to pray for them too? For their good, not their destruction? Dang it.

As usual, I am coming armed with a story so rest assured.

It has to be almost three years since I waited on one of the most wealthy and notoriously rude patron in the Magic City (That is, Birmingham, for those of you who don't live here). When I say that it was a bad experience to wait on this guy, I mean that he and his four guests finally got up and left their table before they had paid their bill. It would have seemed like he was in a hurry had he not stopped to inform my manager of the worst service he had ever received in his life (or, probably anyone in recorded history).

I made a vow then and there, nearly three years ago that I would never wait on this man as long as I could keep my job in spite of sluffing-off his table. I have been encouraged by the fact that, except for rare occasions, he has not graced us with his presence. In the meantime, I have also had a laugh with my coworkers, several of whom had the exact same experience with this man in their first encounter.

And there was his name in the reservation list for Friday night. Like a dark spot on an otherwise clear day, I could see that he was scheduled to sit in my section.

I prepared myself. Seldom are my prayers more heartfelt than when I am asking for patience at the restaurant (here I am not making a joke!). And so he and his party made their way to my table completely against my will.

As I took drink orders, his guest (a man I have also waited on several times before) asked me the dreaded "Where do you go to school" question. I was only a question or two away from telling him I was studying to be a pastor. And it was not long before I reluctantly volunteered the information.

I do not know if it was because they thought I was somehow holy enough to wait on them, or if it was fear of the office of pastor, or just the alcohol, but they were actually stunningly pleasant to me.

And believe it or not, the women at the table asked me to give them a blessing. Out of all the strange requests I have received over the years, this has to be the strangest. After a few mandatory initial changing of subjects, they asked me again.

I could not believe it. I was giving the classic "Aaronic blessing" from Numbers 6:24-26:

The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace


Like I said, every bone in my body protested against them even sitting in my section. Yet here I was literally blessing somebody who had gone out of their way to curse me.

This is a little way that shows what God did for us. Jesus was cursed not only literally by people shouting at him but also by the fact that to be hung on a "tree" is pretty much the epitome of being cursed (Deuteronomy 21:22-23). While he hung on the tree, though, he also blessed.

He prayed for us. In a well-known phrase we should reflect on as Easter approaches, he said: "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."