Sharitha* was the house helper of movement catalysts Ethan* and Nicole* while they lived in India. They remember the day Sharitha heard the story in Luke 18 about the tax collector and the Pharisee.
Ethan and Nicole had shared stories from the Bible over cups of chai with Sharitha in her home with her family, but due to several scheduling conflicts they had not been able to visit with Sharitha in her home for a long time. It had been so long since they met, they began to wonder if Sharitha even wanted them to come and share stories with her.
Ethan and Nicole thought about this quandary of too many people and too many schedules. How were other disciple makers dealing with this issue? What were those doing who lived in countries closed to the gospel?
They found out what works well: Meet with “Sharithas,” simply share the stories, have the “Sharithas’ memorize them, then share the stories with their families or friends. After that, they come back and tell the initial disciple maker how it went. This way, disciple makers can share Truth even in closed nations and locations.
Ethan and Nicole wondered if this approach might work for them with Sharitha. She came to their home every day. What if they taught her a Truth story in their home, and then she went home and shared it with her family? They could discuss the story, and then she could report back about how it went. So they asked Sharitha if she’d like to try this. She said she would love to do that!
As they gathered for their first story-telling meeting, Ethan made chai for the three of them. As soon as they all sat down, the doorbell rang. It was Eric*, their friend and translator. He visited often, so Sharitha knew him, and having him as a last minute addition to the group proved helpful.
First, Nicole told the story in Luke 18 – just like Jesus had: “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit adultery. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’ But the tax collector stood at a distance and didn’t even dare lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. Those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
When Nicole finished, Sharitha asked about the tax collector. What exactly did he do? Eric explained how the man in the story was like some officials in India: corrupt, taking bribes, living richly off the poor. Sharitha was befuddled. “He did bad things, yet HE was the one who was forgiven?” Nicole asked her if she remembered how the religious leader prayed. “Oh, yes, he was full of himself,” she said.
When Sharitha realized that the issue wasn’t what the men had done, but the attitude of their hearts that made them forgiven and right with God, she became very quiet.
Next, they acted out the story. Ethan and Eric acted the parts of the two men while Nicole narrated. After that, they took turns telling the story together. One person told a few lines, then the next, and so on.
During the fourth time through the story, the implications of the story suddenly hit Sharitha . She said, “If everyone lived this way (believing that those who humbled themselves will be exalted and those who exalt themselves will be humbled), there would be no problems in the world.” Then she began to cry.
Sharitha was overwhelmed by the beauty of Jesus’ perspective. She said that pundits and religious leaders had always told her people that God didn’t care for her and her family because they were of a low caste. She also faced this prejudice from her employers, Ethan and Nicole’s landlords. She had cleaned their floors for years, yet she was still not allowed to touch the furniture in the grandmother’s rooms. They considered Sharitha polluting. She had to wash the floors and leave while the grandmother watched over her to make sure she didn’t touch anything. When Sharitha stopped to rest for a few minutes, it had always been on the steps outside the house, never in the home. Yet, Ethan, Eric, Sharitha and Nicole were all sitting together, drinking chai that Ethan had made! Sharitha heard for the first time that in Jesus’ Kingdom those with humble hearts are elevated.
At first she could not believe it. She had never heard anything like this story before. She had never seen anyone value humility. A verse in Proverbs says: a soft answer turns away wrath. Not in Sharitha’s India. If one gives a “soft answer,” it is considered permission for the wrathful person to keep going, even stronger. Sharitha knew this, and finally commented, “But those hard-hearted people (like our landlord), they’ll never believe anything like this.” Nicole and Ethan promised that the following week, they would tell her another story about exactly that happening (the changed heart of Zacchaeus, the wealthy tax collector).
This story about humility seemed to touch Sharitha more than any of the miracle stories they had discussed with her in their home. It was almost as if she expected God Incarnate to do miracles. But the idea that He also elevated humility rocked her world!
She left smiling. She went to tell the story to her family and discuss it with them. Ethan and Nicole knew they didn’t need to be there. Instead, they looked forward to hearing about Sharitha’s discussions with her family. Would this elevation of humility touch the family? Or would they consider humility irrelevant in their society?
*pseudonym
