There is a time-honored story about a Roman Catholic Church that was hosting a community Thanksgiving service. This was to be a first for the church and for the community. Naturally everyone was quite excited. With great dignity the priest led his three Protestant colleagues toward the chancel area when suddenly he realized that he had forgotten to put out chairs for his guests to sit in during the service. In a state of great agitation, he whispered in the ear of one of his elderly laymen, “Please get some chairs for the guest pastors.”
The elderly gentleman was quite hard of hearing, so he asked the priest to repeat his request. The priest did so a little louder: “Please get up and get three chairs for the Protestants.”
The old man had a puzzled look on his face as he rose to his feet. Turning to the rest of the congregation, he said with a loud voice: “This seems highly irregular, but I’ve been asked to have you stand and give three cheers for the Protestants.”
I would love to have been in that congregation that day. It would have been refreshing to hear Roman Catholics cheering for the Protestants or Protestants cheering for Roman Catholics. One of the real scandals of our faith is the animosity of some Christian groups toward other Christian groups.
Fortunately things are not as bad as they used to be. And it has been encouraging in recent years to see many Christian groups at long last opening their arms to one another. For example, this past October newspapers carried stories of a joint celebration of the 500th anniversary of Reformation Day by Lutherans and Roman Catholics, including a cordial statement by Pope Francis. Reformation Day, of course, signifies the beginning of the Protestant movement in rebellion against the Roman Church. What an historic day when Protestants and Roman Catholics can hold out arms of reconciliation.
Speaking of Lutherans and Roman Catholics, it reminds me a story about Reverend Vincent Heier, a Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of St. Louis who invited some Lutherans in his area to hold a meeting in St. Louis Cathedral years ago. He welcomed the Lutherans by saying, “We are pleased to provide the cathedral. Please don’t nail anything to the doors.” (1)
At least the splintering of the Christian movement into hundreds if not thousands of diverse bodies has provided the world with some good humor. We enjoy making fun of our differences. For example, there’s the clever guy who invented a new denomination, the “Frisbeeterians.” These are people who believe that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck.
When Martin Luther nailed those 95 theses on the Wittenberg church door, it unleashed a movement that caused a multitude of new denominations to be formed, but it has also brought about reforms in the Roman church as well. Unfortunately it also led to much antagonism. Hopefully, those days are behind us and today we can concentrate on our common enemies--human sinfulness, injustice and oppression.
Our lesson for the day includes a rather shocking incident in the life of Jesus. The disciple John comes to Jesus and says, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”
“Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us.”
Did you catch that? “Whoever is not against us is for us.”
Then the Master goes on to say, “Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward.”
Does this passage of Scripture strike you like it does me? To me, it represents the exact opposite of what has happened in Christian history. Jesus is preaching tolerance for others who call themselves by his name. Meanwhile the disciples are trying to protect their brand. And it appears to me that we, his followers, have been more like Jesus’ original disciples than like him. Look at what has happened to us. We have splintered into thousands of different groups, and each one, of course, feels that it has a corner on the truth. God must get a good laugh out of it all if it doesn’t cause Him to weep.
Jesus’ disciples were upset that someone who wasn’t a part of their group was performing miracles--specifically, casting out demons--using Jesus’ name. They felt that they had a privilege no one else should have.
It must have been one of those occasions that made Jesus smile, while at the same time causing him to shake his head sadly. “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us.”
What a blow to the disciples’ egos. They wanted Jesus to affirm them as his only true representatives. They wanted to know that they owned the trademark and that others were infringing on what was rightfully theirs. But instead Jesus told them to let that man do what he would to help those who were suffering. Jesus was trying to expand their definition of what it means to follow Christ. He wanted them to accept people who didn’t express their faith in the same way that they did.
There are times when we too have a hard time accepting other people--even other Christians. We think that our way is the best, and that everyone who is a Christian must be exactly like us. Of course, with our nation being divided like it is between Red States and Blue Sates, conservatives and liberals, the “1-percenters” and the rest of us--we’re fortunate that we do not have a lot more sectarian violence.
When will we realize that Jesus is too big to restrict to one denomination, one culture, or one nationality? There are people of every circumstance and every ethnic origin who bear the name Christian. Just think of how small and petty we are being when we try to restrict Jesus to people who look and think like we do. Truth is always bigger than one person’s, or one denomination’s grasp of it.
Like too many people today, the disciples had a narrow definition of who were followers of Jesus. Jesus tried to expand their horizons. Jesus said, “For truly I tell you whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.”
That is an interesting statement. It seems to indicate that a kind deed is more important than doctrinal purity. Think about the two instances cited in this short story. A man is casting out demons . . . As we’ve talked about before, we don’t really know what that means--to cast out demons. Is this another name for people with mental and emotional problems? Or maybe in that day and time a disease like epilepsy was thought to come from demon possession. We just don’t know. Whatever it means, it means someone was suffering. And here was someone who was trying to help the suffering person, and he was doing this act of kindness in Jesus’ name. And all the disciples could think about was that the man seeking to cast out demons hadn’t been admitted to their club. He wasn’t one of the twelve. So they tried to stop him.
Or the other example. Someone is giving one of Jesus’ followers a cup of cold water. In that part of the world that was an act of great kindness. Water was scarce; the land was hot and dry. Do we give the person bestowing this act of kindness a test to see if he or she knows the proper catechism before we accept this gift? Absurd! These folks are doing a kind deed. There’s not enough of that in this world.
There is a website you might want to check out some time. It’s called www.actsofkindness.org. There you will find true stories of people involved in performing random acts of kindness.
For example, one of the stories is called Houston’s story. Houston tells about being on a plane sitting next to a woman who was, in Houston’s words, “relentlessly energetic and fidgety.” Houston was tired and wanted to take a nap. But before he could manage that the woman tapped him on the shoulder to introduce herself.
“Hi, my name is Helga!” she said.
They got to talking and eventually it came up that Houston had started an organization in high school called R.A.K.E. (an acronym for Random Acts of Kindness, Etc.). As Houston described what his organization did, Helga got very serious and told him that she thought “there was nothing more important in the world than kindness.”
Houston was curious why she was so passionate about this subject and, as the plane took off, she dove into a story about the last time she had flown; it was 3 years past and she was en route to Arizona because she had gotten sudden news her Dad’s health was on the decline. Just as the plane was about to depart to Phoenix, her father’s physician called to inform her that her dad had rather suddenly passed away. For the 3 hour plane ride, she sat in stunned silence among strangers.
When she arrived at the airport in Arizona, she walked to the nearest wall, sat down and cried. And here is the part Houston says he will never forget about Helga’s story. For 2 hours she sat and wept while thousands of people walked to and fro in the airport. Helga looked at him and said, “Houston, not a single person stopped and asked if I was okay that day. Not one person. It was that day that I realized how much we need each other. It was that day I realized that kindness isn’t normal.” (3)
No, it’s not normal. Most of us are too preoccupied with our own concerns to pay attention to the needs of others. And yet, what does it mean to be a follower of Jesus if it doesn’t mean we are to be sensitive as Christ was sensitive to the needs of persons who are hurting?
Jesus calls us to expand our understanding of his grace and his love. Christ is Lord of all the world. Wherever people offer one another a cup of cold water, he is there. They may not even know his name, but he is there. And that brings us to our particular task. We are called to introduce people to the Lord of kindness. No person ever lived who was kinder than Jesus, and he wants us to do acts of kindness in his name.
Mark Twain once said, “Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” Actually, kindness is the only language that communicates what it means to be the family of Christ.
Kent Millard, a pastor, has given us a paraphrase of Paul’s beautiful homage to love in I Corinthians 13. It goes like this: “I may have a brilliant mind, a wonderful personality, and a healthy body; but if I am not kind to those around me, it does me no good.
“I may have a good income, a beautiful home, and an expensive car,
but if I am not kind and generous in sharing them, I don't make a difference in the world.
“I may have great success in my business or profession; I may have power and influence over many people; but if I don't treat people with kindness, I am a failure.
‘Kindness is love in action. Kindness is the pebble in the pond, whose ripples can change the world.
‘Having the faith to move mountains is great; having hope in bleak circumstances is wonderful, but deeds of loving kindness transform lives and last forever.
‘I may have many wonderful qualities in my life, but without kindness they are not enough. (4)
This is crucial. There is only one way to communicate the Gospel that truly attracts people into the family of Christ and that is with words and works of kindness. So often when people are doing what they consider to be mission work, they do so from a feeling of superiority. They feel that the person who is the target of their effort is distasteful, or even deplorable. They do not realize that Christ is already at work in the life of that other person through acts of kindness, decency, and concern. The only thing they really need is a name for the redeeming work that is already going on in their lives. Our role is to help them interpret what it is that God is already doing and do it with kindness.
Of course the best way to witness to the Lord of kindness is through our own random acts of compassion and love. This is the way to effectively communicate the wonder of the Gospel. It does not depend on labels or formal affiliations for validation. It is offering a cup of cold water in Jesus’ name to any who are in need. And it is recognizing that when someone offers us a cup of cold water, Christ is already at work in that person’s life whether they are able to name the name or not. Any time anyone, regardless of their denominational affiliation, is trying to help another, Christ is there.
An anonymous author has put it this way:
Is anybody happier because you passed his way?
Does anyone remember that you spoke to her today?
Can you say tonight, in parting with the day that’s slipping fast,
That you helped a single person of the many that you passed?
Is a single heart rejoicing over what you did or said?
Does the man whose hopes were fading now with courage look ahead?
Did you leave a trail of kindness, or a scar of discontent?
As you close your eyes in slumber, do you think that God will say,
“You have earned one more tomorrow by the work you did today?” (5)
We don’t have to earn our tomorrows, thank God. They are the gift of a loving and gracious Heavenly Father. He gave those tomorrows to us even when we were unworthy, simply and solely as an act of kindness. Now it is our time to pass on what we have received to others. So three cheers for the Protestants and the Roman Catholics and for those of every sect who are bringing kindness to the world, for kindness is another word for God.
1. Cal and Rose Samra, Holy Humor (Mastermedia Limited; First Edition edition, 1996), pp. 177-178.
2. THE JOKESMITH.
3. Houston's Story at https://www.randomactsofkindness.org/raktivist-stories.
4. Cited by Rev. Dr. William S. Shillady, http://www.parkavemethodist.org/sermon.php?s=16.
5. Source unknown.