THE GRATEFUL DISCIPLE
by David Wells
In the Forward to David Well's The Grateful Disciple, John Mannix alerts the reader that he/she should not read the anecdotes from Wells' life which the author shares in this book as exegesis, even though each anecdote is connected to a specific passage from scripture; rather, the reader should view the many anecdotes as examples of how the Holy Spirit offers "encouragement" to believers "...through the most mundane of our experiences, if we have the wisdom and humility to listen." (11)
In the first anecdote, entitled In a class of my own, Wells reflects on how as a teacher in England he was unable to really connect with his students - despite his best efforts to provide rigorous and appealing lessons - until the moment he messed up by forgetting their exercise books in the staff room and then compounding his embarrassment by rushing into the wrong classroom and chastising the students in that room for apparent misbehaviour. Writes Wells, when, in a moment of vulnerability, he revealed his mistakes to his students, "For the first time there was a connection between us, and it wasn't in my lesson plan." (19) From this experience, Wells learned an invaluable lesson about teaching:
When we influence each other by who we are, we are teaching at a more
profound level. We remember our teachers for who they are more than
what they taught us. (19)
From a spiritual point of view, this humorous incident helped him understand the deeper meaning of John 14:15-21, which describes the work of the Holy Spirit: "In this scripture we learn that the Spirit is sent to help us. What we are unlikely to know is exactly what that will look like." (19)
Derek the Atheist is another vignette from the author's life which serves as an example of spiritual enlightenment from an unlikely source. While serving as a panelist at a college debate - presumably on the topic of religious belief, Wells was moved to contemplation on the relationship between religion and science. Another panelist asked Wells "Who are you?" When Wells responded with his name, the panelist snidely responded "No, I mean... Are you the Christian, the Muslim, or the Jew? I'm Derek... the atheist." (41) For Derek, religion and science were contradictory whereas to Wells they are compatible and even interdependent as was suggested to him by the astronomical clock in Exeter Cathedral. Writes Wells, "For centuries religious people were leaders in the fields of astronomy, cosmology, calculus, and physics. It would have been a complete absurdity to the people who built this clock to ask why anyone would disassociate scientific study and logic from religion and mysticism." (43)
My favourite anecdote is the story of Wells' irascible student Stacey. Wells describes her as a delinquent who was angry - ",,,with the world, angry with her life, angry with authority." (47) She quietly controlled his class intimidating both him and the other students. Writes Wells, "...she was the only student who ever beat me. Her presence overshadowed mine." (47) However, 10 years after she left his class, when he was was sitting in a back pew at St. Barnabas Cathedral in Nottingham, Stacey tapped him on the shoulder and shocked him by telling him that she came regularly to the church because of his influence. Said Stacey, "I come here because of you." (50)
In reflecting upon his unrealized influence on her, Wells states:
To this day I have no idea what I did for her. The gift was to know I did it
. ...whatever we have or achieve is God's gift to us. ...My student Stacey
would grow by God's grace not mine, in her time not mine, in her way not
mine. So much so, that while I may have been instrumental in some small
way, I have no way of knowing exactly how. ...God uses us without our
knowing how or when. (50-51)
Wells' revelation from his relationship with Stacey is one and the same as that which we take from Jesus' parable of the farmer (Mark 4:26) who scattered seed on his land. As he slept and rose night and day, the seed sprout and grew and "he did not know how." (46)
In "Nice shoes", Wells relates what he describes as "...one of the most vivid examples of Christian love I have witnessed." (78) It occurred when he was just 17 years old. While in the presbytery, he observed a brief exchange between the curate and a homeless man he identifies as 'Joey'. Joey asked the curate for money to purchase new shoes. Although it was obvious that Joey really wanted the money to buy alcohol, the curate noted the deplorable condition of Joey's current shoes, and rather than giving him money that would simply feed Joey's addiction, the curate gave him his own shoes. Despite his not getting what he wanted, Joey was nonetheless delighted to receive the curate's shoes.
Wells was struck by this powerful act of kindness and wisdom. Writes the author, "I was witnessing in him an image of Christ at work. ...For all the many sermons that man gave, I remember none of them, except only one: the day he gave away his shoes - and it has stayed with me ever since." (81)
In Chapter 24: The grateful disciple', the author contrasts the reactions of two of his childhood neighbours to balls and frisbees going over the fence into their gardens. 'Dorothy' reacted with joy and even generosity. She would not only happily return the objects but as well pass over '...chocolate bars and treats of all kinds." (160) 'Ken', however, reacted with anger. In reflecting on what made these two neighbours react differently, Wells concludes that it was simply gratitude. While both had experienced a similar mixture of joy and pain in their lives, "Dorothy' chose to respond with a grateful heart. Writes the author "Gratitude, it seems, is sometimes a powerful feeling - but most of the time it is a decision." (161) As is written in Colossians 3, we should "...be thankful ...and with gratitude in [our]hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God." (159)
The last chapter is titled Stand by me. In it, Wells writes about a student named 'Liam' whom he describes as difficult to like: "He wasn't rude or malicious, just lacking awareness, and he quickly irritated people." (176) One late afternoon, when the author was evaluating student writing, a note from Liam's mother to her son fell out of Liam's book. It read "Liam, don't forget what I told you. Things will be okay. I love you. Mum." (27)
Stunned by the devotion of Liam's mother for her unpopular son, Wells had a moment of epiphany: "The note was a stark reminder that I needed to look at this boy with the eyes of love. ...Love stands by the unpopular person when they [sic] are ignored and overlooked. When we stand by vulnerable and discarded people we are doing what Mary did [at the foot of the Cross (John 19:25-30)] and Jesus before her." (179)
In the first anecdote, entitled In a class of my own, Wells reflects on how as a teacher in England he was unable to really connect with his students - despite his best efforts to provide rigorous and appealing lessons - until the moment he messed up by forgetting their exercise books in the staff room and then compounding his embarrassment by rushing into the wrong classroom and chastising the students in that room for apparent misbehaviour. Writes Wells, when, in a moment of vulnerability, he revealed his mistakes to his students, "For the first time there was a connection between us, and it wasn't in my lesson plan." (19) From this experience, Wells learned an invaluable lesson about teaching:
When we influence each other by who we are, we are teaching at a more
profound level. We remember our teachers for who they are more than
what they taught us. (19)
From a spiritual point of view, this humorous incident helped him understand the deeper meaning of John 14:15-21, which describes the work of the Holy Spirit: "In this scripture we learn that the Spirit is sent to help us. What we are unlikely to know is exactly what that will look like." (19)
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| Author and Teacher David Wells |
Derek the Atheist is another vignette from the author's life which serves as an example of spiritual enlightenment from an unlikely source. While serving as a panelist at a college debate - presumably on the topic of religious belief, Wells was moved to contemplation on the relationship between religion and science. Another panelist asked Wells "Who are you?" When Wells responded with his name, the panelist snidely responded "No, I mean... Are you the Christian, the Muslim, or the Jew? I'm Derek... the atheist." (41) For Derek, religion and science were contradictory whereas to Wells they are compatible and even interdependent as was suggested to him by the astronomical clock in Exeter Cathedral. Writes Wells, "For centuries religious people were leaders in the fields of astronomy, cosmology, calculus, and physics. It would have been a complete absurdity to the people who built this clock to ask why anyone would disassociate scientific study and logic from religion and mysticism." (43)
My favourite anecdote is the story of Wells' irascible student Stacey. Wells describes her as a delinquent who was angry - ",,,with the world, angry with her life, angry with authority." (47) She quietly controlled his class intimidating both him and the other students. Writes Wells, "...she was the only student who ever beat me. Her presence overshadowed mine." (47) However, 10 years after she left his class, when he was was sitting in a back pew at St. Barnabas Cathedral in Nottingham, Stacey tapped him on the shoulder and shocked him by telling him that she came regularly to the church because of his influence. Said Stacey, "I come here because of you." (50)
In reflecting upon his unrealized influence on her, Wells states:
To this day I have no idea what I did for her. The gift was to know I did it
. ...whatever we have or achieve is God's gift to us. ...My student Stacey
would grow by God's grace not mine, in her time not mine, in her way not
mine. So much so, that while I may have been instrumental in some small
way, I have no way of knowing exactly how. ...God uses us without our
knowing how or when. (50-51)
Wells' revelation from his relationship with Stacey is one and the same as that which we take from Jesus' parable of the farmer (Mark 4:26) who scattered seed on his land. As he slept and rose night and day, the seed sprout and grew and "he did not know how." (46)
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| Mark 4: The Parable of the Mustard Seed |
Wells was struck by this powerful act of kindness and wisdom. Writes the author, "I was witnessing in him an image of Christ at work. ...For all the many sermons that man gave, I remember none of them, except only one: the day he gave away his shoes - and it has stayed with me ever since." (81)
In Chapter 24: The grateful disciple', the author contrasts the reactions of two of his childhood neighbours to balls and frisbees going over the fence into their gardens. 'Dorothy' reacted with joy and even generosity. She would not only happily return the objects but as well pass over '...chocolate bars and treats of all kinds." (160) 'Ken', however, reacted with anger. In reflecting on what made these two neighbours react differently, Wells concludes that it was simply gratitude. While both had experienced a similar mixture of joy and pain in their lives, "Dorothy' chose to respond with a grateful heart. Writes the author "Gratitude, it seems, is sometimes a powerful feeling - but most of the time it is a decision." (161) As is written in Colossians 3, we should "...be thankful ...and with gratitude in [our]hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God." (159)
The last chapter is titled Stand by me. In it, Wells writes about a student named 'Liam' whom he describes as difficult to like: "He wasn't rude or malicious, just lacking awareness, and he quickly irritated people." (176) One late afternoon, when the author was evaluating student writing, a note from Liam's mother to her son fell out of Liam's book. It read "Liam, don't forget what I told you. Things will be okay. I love you. Mum." (27)
Stunned by the devotion of Liam's mother for her unpopular son, Wells had a moment of epiphany: "The note was a stark reminder that I needed to look at this boy with the eyes of love. ...Love stands by the unpopular person when they [sic] are ignored and overlooked. When we stand by vulnerable and discarded people we are doing what Mary did [at the foot of the Cross (John 19:25-30)] and Jesus before her." (179)
