“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” Matthew 25:37-40 (Context: Matthew 25:31-46)
The essence of this wonderful verse was brought home to me one very cold Advent season in Jacksonville, Florida. I was very preoccupied for reasons that are now unclear and on the way to pick up some food for dinner from a local Long John Silver’s. I was delighted to have my teenage daughter with me who I hope could brighten up my spirits. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a young sad waif of a girl walk into the food establishment and gave it no thought.
As I waited to pick up my food order, my reverie was suddenly broken by the manager yelling at the waif… “Go on…get out of here … we don’t give no free handouts to bums… get out!!!!!” Wow…Christmas spirit…and I picked up my order, paid, and then noticed that daughter was no longer with me…..
I went outside and then noticed that my daughter was standing with little waif with her arm around her wiping her tears away then handing a wad of bills and walking back to me. Now my reverie was broken and the meaning of the Scripture came to me, “the least of these my brothers and sisters.” I said: “What you did was wonderful.” To which my daughter responded: “Don’t make a big deal out it dad.” Well, the money she gave was her entire paycheck.
As I looked around I noticed that the young waif had disappeared! How could that be? Very little time had passed…or so I thought …Where did she go? Had God sent us an angel like in the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”…? I don’t know. At this point my eyes began to moist up and we headed for the car… another Scripture came to mind: “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” Hebrews 13:2
Ken Handley
Ken Handley along with his wife Bev, were founding members of Servants of Christ. Although Bev went to be with the Lord in 2016, Ken continues to be a strong supporter of our family efforts to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He is a member of the vestry with his term ending in 2018.