Malchus and Me

Who are the true followers of Jesus?
We've heard about the fishermen, tax collectors, and Pharisees who followed him. We know about the chief priests and the scribes he argued with, some of whom converted. We've heard about the many people he healed, the lepers he cleansed, the blind whose sight he restored. We've even read about the adulterers and divorcees he encountered and led to salvation.
But what about the other people on the fringes of society? What about the drunks and deviants who experienced Jesus? What about the outcasts, the criminals, the sex workers, the LGBTQ persons?
What about the guy who is hungover at the synagogue? What about the wayward Jew, or the unbelieving Gentile heathen? Didn't they also come to believe, as they experienced Jesus? Aren't the motley crew from the wild side of Jerusalem also Christ's followers?
This is their story of encounter, love, and mercy. It is a story of Jesus meeting us where we are, no matter where that is. Their story is a meditation from the margins, told as only they can tell it.