“You SMell Nice”

Couple of weeks ago I walked into my office and found this simple note on the board. It had no name or reference, just these three letters with a smiley face. And so I kept it, for no other reason than it being a nice compliment.

But the last few days I’ve been pondering on all the (figurative) filth, the dirt, the disgustingly corrupt and sewage-like smells we see and encounter in our world. It is not pleasant, and can fill one with a sense of numbness; a “that’s just how it is” of some sorts. And it’s hard, especially as a follower of Jesus, to “keep the positive attitude’, or to continue believing that hope is real, when you don’t have to walk far to see that the good of the world seem to be swallowed up by the stench of evil.

SOuth African Flaneur, Pierre Du Plessis recently brought out a book, “Jesus Ruik Soos Mirre en Stof”, in which he talks about the many encounters Jesus had with people from all walks of life. These encounters made Jesus smelt of blood, rejection, and wood, forgiveness, and dust, and grace, and fish, and prostitute, and Samaritan, and Jew, and Pharisee, and just about any kind of human being you can find.

Somehow, we, the church, have lost the smell of the Rabbi with the band of brothers. Somehow, we’ve developed anosmia- complete loss of smell. We have isolated ourselves from the bad odours of the world around us.

And we need to change that.

Years ago, my home church pastor, Gerrit Coetzee and a few of us, walked through one of the townships, talking to people. One of the locals said to us, “I know you people. You are like Jesus. Jesus also went around talking to poor people.”

WHat do you smell like when you walk the streets? When you meet strangers? is there something about Jesus evident in your walk?

Can people smell the myrrh, the dust, the forgiveness, the grace, of Jesus on you?

Or do you just simply smell nice, like I was told?