WACKY WEDNESDAY WISDOM- Trying to be Anonymous

     You wouldn't guess who I was line behind so I won't ask you to. That's a cheap way to get your attention and pique your curiosity. For inquiring minds who want to know who it was, I will tell you at some point, but first some background and set up.
     It was 2005 or so, and I was visiting my cousin in California. When we were teenagers way back in 1980, singer Olivia Newton-John looked right in our eyes and sang a few words of a song  ("You have to believe we are Magic") to us when we went to a taping of an old show called "Midnight Special". Special it was. Especially when the whole neighborhood back in North Carolina gathered and we watched it on television a few weeks later when it aired.
     So when I revisited my cousin some 25 years later, I was thinking perhaps lightning might strike again and I might hobnob with somebody else famous. After all, it's California. And we were very near Los Angeles.
     A baseball scout friend of mine got us some tickets for a Dodgers game. Yes, the same Dodgers who won the National League championship this year and played the Astros in what will go down as one of the all-time classic World Series match-ups.
     To claim our tickets that afternoon, I had to stand in a long line at the Will Call window outside of the stadium. It was one of those lines that weaved in and out of ropes held up by poles where you pass the same person over and over. At one point, I saw my cousin motioning to me and pointing at the guy in front of me in line. This gentleman and I had been in line next to each other for about five minutes and had exchanged polite "Hellos" but nothing beyond that. My linemate (not a word but I make up words all the time and will continue to do so, thank you) was sporting sunglasses, a baseball cap pulled down as low as style would allow, and normal looking clothes.
     Or at least the clothes looked normal to me. On second thought, I'm not sure I'm qualified to say what "normal" is in California. Two reasons: 1. I'm from North Carolina. 2. Nothing is normal in California. So when I say he was wearing normal clothing, I should say that what he was wearing didn't stand out in any way.
     No longer able to contain himself,  my cousin grabbed me at one of the turns in the line and informed me that my linemate was "Lieutenant Dan". I knew immediately who that was, having watched "Forrest Gump" more times than I have fingers to count with.
     His real life name is Gary Sinise and he's been in lots of other stuff, too, so he's well known. Enough to the point that wearing sunglasses and a cap pulled down low on his head couldn't fool everyone. My cousin asked if we could get a picture and I could tell right away Lt. Dan wasn't excited about the idea. He kinda shook his head politely and when my cousin repeated the request, he again declined.
     Lt. Dan wanted to remain as anonymous as possible and I totally understood. I wanted to say something but I didn't want to sound stupid. Perhaps I could have told him how much I enjoyed his acting. Perhaps I could have done my best "Forrest Gump" movie impressions- which include the lines "Stupid is as stupid does" and Lt. Dan's very own "Don't do anything stupid, like getting yourself killed." But all I could think to say on such short notice as we continued on in line was, "No problem, I understand completely." He replied simply, "Thanks".
     Later on during a break in the game, the videoboard flashed up short videos of all the famous people in attendance and, you guessed it, there was Lt. Dan bigger than life, shyly waving at the camera when his cover was blown. I remember thinking that based on our previous encounter, he probably wished the cameras hadn't discovered him.
     Jesus Christ was like Lt. Dan in some ways. Matthew 8:18 informs us that "When Jesus saw a crowd around Him, He departed to the other side of the sea". There are other Biblical examples as well of times when Jesus did not want to become the center of attention. His disciples didn't always understand that, but Lt. Dan gets it. Popularity can not only be draining, but it can also be fickle. Jesus didn't want to be today's fifteen-minutes-of-fame sensation and tomorrow's forgotten has-been. He wanted to have an eternal impact on the folks He encountered and be a lasting presence in their lives. And to do that, He needed to know when to walk away from frenzied crowds of admirers.
     But He also didn't shy away from attention when He felt it could benefit His Father's Kingdom, even if it made Him less popular. In Luke 11:29, as the crowd numbers increased, He warned them that they were a wicked generation because they demanded a sign. And in Mark 7, when a large crowd of religious leaders gathered around Him, He sharply rebuked them, pointing out that even though their lips spoke the right words, their hearts were far from honoring God.
     There is no picture of Lt. Dan and me on my Facebook page or on Twitter. The man deserved his privacy and I'm glad I didn't violate that by being pushy or selfish. But I hope if either Dan or I get a chance to stand up for the Lord in a crowd, we will take off our sunglasses and hats, put our desire to be anonymous aside and use the moment to proclaim the Kingdom of God. Even it makes us unpopular with the crowd.