Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 7672 Plough Quarterly • Winter 2015 York. He was a hard worker in the community’s factory, making equipment for people with dis- abilities. Active in the life of the church, he often assisted ministers at baptisms and weddings. He was known for his free-spirited renditions of “Amazing Grace” and for occasionally showing up in war paint and a kilt. Off-hours, he dedi- cated much of his time to mentoring children and young people. One of his efforts was the “Lake of Fire Rescue Team”–a yearlong project to reno- vate an abandoned chapel in the woods (it had belonged to a long-discontinued Catholic summer camp). The members of the Rescue Team, apart from Larry, were a group of mid- dle-school-age boys. In cooperation with their parents, Larry gave the young men lessons in work ethic, survival skills, and–most impor- tantly to him–Bible study. “Stay in the Word,” was one of Larry’s repeated messages to young people. They lis- tened because it was obvious how acutely he felt his own need for God every minute and every day. He suffered from PTSD and was tormented by nightmares of Vietnam, prison, and the streets. Maybe that’s why he especially loved Paul’s exhortation to “put on the armor of God” in Ephesians 6: “Our fight is not with people; it is against the leaders and the powers and the spirits of darkness in this world.” With a hand on his well-worn Bible, Larry would quote Psalm 119, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” When we buried Larry, one of his close friends read the words of Isaiah 53: He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hide their faces he was despised, and we held him of no account. This was the Jesus that Larry knew. And where does his story leave us? Will we answer the same call from the Jesus that Larry followed–the Jesus that walks the battle fields, the Jesus who sleeps on heating grates or in subway stations? Will we embrace and recognize the Christ in all who seek him? Or will we–as the prophet Isaiah so aptly describes–be put off by foul mannerisms or appearance? I pray for thousands more Larrys to join with our community. May we be found ready. Jason Landsel, a contributing artist to this maga- zine, lives in the Woodcrest community in upstate New York. Larry Mason, a formerly homeless Vietnam veteran, taking a break with young friends while cleaning up an abandoned chapel Will we follow the Jesus who sleeps on heating grates?