We Are His Hands
Michael Jordan is considered by some to be the greatest athlete of all time. He finished his star-studded career with a stellar performance. Time was winding down on the NBA championship game. The Chicago Bulls were down by one basket. The ball was passed to Jordan. Jordan made a fancy move to go around the defender. The defender was so bluffed the he fell to the floor. Jordan sets his sight on the basket and releases just as the buzzer sounds, sinking a perfect 3-point shot, winning the game and the championship.
For most of us, these are the scenes we remember…slam-dunks taking off from the free-throw line, the fame, the popularity, the commercials, and championships. I’d like to share with you a story you might not have heard.
It involved a young boy by the name of Cornelius. He was a thin, extremely quiet boy. His mother and her boyfriend in prison. They had tortured, abused and starved Cornelius and his four year old brother, Lattie. The police discovered the abuse in time to save Cornelius’ life, but it had been too late to save his 4-year old brother.
The two great loves of his life were reading and basketball.
The newspaper reporter who had been writing of the tragedy, mentioned in one of his columns that Cornelius’ had a passion for basketball. Steve Schanwald, a vice president of the Chicago Bulls, read the column and called the reporter. Though tickets to Bulls’ games were without exception sold out, Schanwald said that if Cornelius would like to come to a game he would be sure there were tickets available. The reporter took him to the game. I share the story from his perspective.
To every Chicago youngster who follows basketball, the stadium was a shrine. Think of where Cornelius once was, locked up and tormented and hurt. And now he was in the stadium, about to see his first Bulls game.
We walked down a stairway, until we were in a lower level hallway. Cornelius stood between us. Then a door opened and a man came out. Cornelius looked up, and his eyes filled with a combination of wonder and awe and total disbelief.
Cornelius tried to say something; his mouth was moving but no words would come out. He tried to speak and then the man helped him out by speaking first.
“Hi, Cornelius,” the man said. “I’m Michael Jordan.”
Jordan knelt down and spoke quietly with Cornelius. He made some jokes and told some stories about basketball and he didn’t rush. You have to understand—for a long time the only adults Cornelius had any contact with were adults who wanted to hurt and humiliate him. And now Michael Jordan was saying, “Are you going to cheer for us today? We’re going to need it.”
Jordan went back into the locker room to finish dressing for the game. I walked Cornelius back upstairs to the court. There was one more surprise waiting.
Cornelius was given a red shirt of the kind worn by the Bulls’ ball boys. He retrieved balls for the players from both teams as they warmed up.
Then, as the game was about to begin, he was led to Jordan’s seat on the Bulls’ bench. That’s where he was going to sit—right next to Jordan’s seat. During the minutes of the game when Jordan was out and resting, Cornelius would be sitting with him; when Jordan was on the court, Cornelius would be saving his seat for him. At one point late in the game Jordan took a pass and sailed into the air and slammed home a basket. And there, just a few feet away, was Cornelius Abraham, laughing out loud with joy.
As we applauded the incredible basket…the act of kindness that Jordan showed Cornelius was receiving the applause of heaven.
You see, “Greatness in the kingdom of heaven is measured by small acts of kindness.”
Let’s turn in our Bibles to well known passage of scripture.
READ Matthew 25:31-40
In the countryside, sheep and goats mingled during the day. At night they were often separated; sheep tolerated the cooler air, while the goats had to be herded together for warmth. In sparse grazing areas the animals were sometimes separated during the day as well.
Here we find Jesus taking this common activity of a shepherd and applying deep symbolism to it. As is typical of Hebrew poetry, we don’t have here any gray areas. The picture is painted sharply in black and white. All men fall into one of two classes…symbolically, sheep and goats. The sheep, identified as the righteous are given the right hand, which was the place of power and honor.
The distinction between sheep and goats is easy for anyone to distinguish. This last week, the girls and I went to Owen’s farm. It was easy even for them to see the differences between the two.
But, when it comes to people at the end of time, how is this distinction made.
The righteous, represented by the sheep are identified in two ways.
1. The righteous provided others with simple acts of kindness.
Notice the simple responses God noted in the actions of the righteous. Giving someone a drink, something to eat, clothes to wear and a visit. These are simple and basic things. No pomp, no plaque, no prestige.
God’s followers are not identified by saying, “Lord, Lord” and repeating verbal expressions of their faith. They are note for numerous acts of self-sacrificing service, rendered unobtrusively to their fellow men.
In 1921, Lewis Lawes became the warden at Sing Sing Prison. No prison was tougher than Sing Sing during that time. But when Warden Lawes retired some 20 years later, that prison had become a humanitarian institution. Those who studied the system said credit for the change belonged to Lawes. But when he was asked about the transformation, here’s what he said: “I owe it all to my wonderful wife, Catherine, who is buried outside the prison walls.”
Catherine Lawes was a young mother with three small children when her husband became the warden. Everybody warned her from the beginning that she should never set foot inside the prison walls, but that didn’t stop Catherine! When the first prison basketball game was held, she went…..walking into the gym with her three beautiful kids and she sat in the stands with the inmates.
Her attitude was: “My husband and I are going to take care of these men and I believe they will take care of me! I don’t have to worry!”
She insisted on getting acquainted with them and their records. She discovered one convicted murderer was blind so she paid him a visit. Holding his hand in hers she said, “Do you read Braille?”
“What’s Braille?” he asked. Then she taught him how to read. Years later he would weep in love for her.
Later, Catherine found a deaf-mute in prison. She went to school to learn how to use sign language. Many said that Catherine Lawes was the body of Jesus that came alive again in Sing Sing from 1921 to 1937.
Then, she was killed in a car accident. The next morning Lewis Lawes didn’t come to work, so the acting warden took his place. It seemed almost instantly that the prison knew something was wrong.
The following day, her body was resting in a casket in her home, three-quarters of a mile from the prison. As the acting warden took his early morning walk, he was shocked to see a large crowd of the toughest, hardest looking criminals gathered like a herd of animals at the main gate. He came closer and noted tears of grief and sadness. He knew how much they loved Catherine. He turned and faced the men, “All right, men, you can go. Just be sure and check in tonight!” The he opened the gate and a parade of criminals walked, without a guard, the three-quarters of a mile to stand in line to pay their final respects to Catherine Lawes. And every one of them checked back in. Every one!
2. The righteous used their resources to be a blessing.
An unusual part of this judgment scene is the way those on the left hand try to excuse themselves on the grounds that they had no opportunity to do so.
They ask in a tone of injured innocence, “Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?” Matthew 25:44
This question is asked in a more condensed and agitated manner than they surprised query of the righteous who were disclaiming the credit given to them.
Note the King’s response,
“Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not for the lease of these, you did not do it to me.” Matthew 25:45
As in the previous parable of the 10 virgins and of entrusted wealth, so it is in this judgment scene. It is not so much wrong-doing that evokes the severest censure, but the utter failure to do good.” The sin of omission is seen as more serious than the sin of commission. Just as the door is shut on the foolish virgins for their negligence, so those on the left are lost for failing to notice the many opportunities for showing kindness which had been given them.
I’m reminded of the story in the Bible of the rich man who had an abundant harvest. However, he had no place to put it as his barns were already full. His plan was to tear down the old barns and build bigger ones. Note God’s response in Luke 12:20-21,
“But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
God blesses us in order that we may be a blessing to others. All of us have been given something that we can share with others. If we don’t take the opportunities we have to be a blessing and squander or hoard these for ourselves, they will eventually be taken from us.
How then do we become rich toward God? Simply by passing those blessings on to others.
“You will find, as you look back on life, that the moments that stand out are the moments when you have done things for others.” Henry Drummond
Do you desire genuine vitality in your spiritual walk with God? Perhaps it’s time for action. Time to provide acts of kindness for others. When we focus on self and our own problems and frustrations too much…spiritual energy is drained. Serving others in Christ-like ways can light a spark in our spiritual life. As James chapter 2:20 states, “Faith without works is dead.” To have a vibrant walk with God, it takes more than belief…it takes action.
3. The righteous are surprised by the significance of their actions.
Neither the sheep nor the goats are surprised at the place the King assigns them…they are surprised at the reason the King gives.
The punch-line of this parable is found in verse 40,
“…inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to me.”
The surprise of the righteous at this statement makes it impossible to think that works of righteousness win salvation. How they treated the “least of these” was not for the purpose of being accepted or rejected by the king. The sheep did not show love to gain heaven.
Jesus is interested here in a righteousness of the whole person, a righteousness from the heart. True disciples will love one another and serve the least brother with compassion; in so doing they unconsciously serve Christ. Those who have little sympathy for the gospel of the kingdom will remain indifferent and, in so doing, reject Jesus. Paul learned this at his conversion. On a trip to Damascus to persecute and destroy Christians, he encountered Christ. The voice from heaven declared, “I am Jesus, who you are persecuting.” (Acts 9:5)
When we respond to others, we are responding to Christ.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer said it very well in his book, The Cost of Discipleship: "The bearers of Jesus’ word receive a final word of promise for their work. They are now Christ’s fellow workers, and will be like him in all things. Thus they are to meet those to whom they are sent as if they were Christ himself. They are bearers of his presence. They bring with them the most precious gift in the world, the gift of Jesus Christ."
We are Christ bearers before others in our homes, in the church, in school, at work, in the whole world. What would happen if, every day, we were always conscious of this truth and did our best to put it into practice?
We are Jesus ambassadors to others here on this earth. We are His hands and his feet to be a blessing to all those we come in contact with.
My appeal today is for us to recognize that we are Jesus hand and feet here on this earth. As we sing this song, may God place in your heart a compassion and desire to serve others.
“We Are His Hands.”
