One of the appealing characteristics of the historical Jesus is how open he was to people ” all kinds of people. Will Rogers once said he never met a man he didn’t like. Jesus never met a person he didn’t love. People from all kinds of situations found themselves comfortable in his presence. He didn’t come across as stuffy or pretentious.

It reminds me of the story of a priest in the mountains of Kentucky who had come home with a family of new converts for dinner. He was received cordially by all but the small daughter in the family, who stared at him unblinkingly throughout the meal. The priest, somewhat uncomfortable, tried to put the little girl at ease.

"Is it my collar you are staring at?" he asked, taking it off and holding it up. When he did so he saw the cleaning instructions on …