Danny Fourie

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Matthew 16:15

He wore a long coat. His black hair touched his shoulders. He did not make any time to go to the barber. His face was covered by a robust beard. When He looked at the world, it was with an incisive gaze. His eyes were friendly and He stood out with his towering appearance.

Everywhere in Cape Town people talked about Him. He was the talk of the town. He was different. In the Company Gardens He stood at the fountain and talked about God. Underneath the flyovers in the city He talked to the homeless and the vagrants. For the brothels and the pimps He had harsh words: “You rob these girls of their freedom.” Asylum seekers and illegal immigrants from Africa occupied a warm place in his big heart.

One day He asked to address parliament and He conversed with the government about the many wrongs in the country. He asked the Cape Town City Council for a list of all the things in the Mother City that He can pray for.

At a home for dying Aids patients He told them about his Father in heaven. He took a trip to Stellenbosch and met with the professors in theology at the university. They were amazed at his enormous knowledge and asked Him: “Where did you study?” One day in front of one of the big financial institutions in Adderley Street He delivered a sermon vehemently condemning the power of money. At the Tygerberg Hospital He went to visit the sick and healed many of them with a single word or gesture. The doctors were amazed. He was different from a homeopath or the practice of a quack.

One day He attended a funeral. He stepped forward and said to the corpse in the coffin: “Get up!” It happened just as He said. The people became afraid. Who is this man? Nobody knew where He came from. Nobody knew where He lived.

Prayer: Lord, often I wonder what my answer would have been to who you are? Help me to verbalize, not with my brain, but with my heart who you are. Amen.