Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Here's a parable God gave me while I was preparing my sermon last Sunday, based upon Matthew 25:31-46.

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There was a young boy who had developed a rare form of cancer. His body was slowly being ravaged by the spread of thousands of tiny polyps and tumors. He had undergone many surgeries to remove affected areas of his stomach and intestines, in order to control the spread of the disease.

His widowed father had taken him from hospital to hospital. From specialist to specialist.

After complete sets of tests and invasive procedures, the answer was always the same… "I’m sorry, Mr. Johnson, there’s nothing we can do. This is such a rare form of this disease that there are only 3 laboratories in the entire country that can test for it. Even if we were able to identify the cause and a cure, I’m afraid that it’s just too late to help Tommy."

Tommy was tired of all of the testing. He had lost a lot of weight, and he had lost almost all of his strength. He didn’t even seem to have the energy to smile anymore. And through it all, his father was by his side, and it was breaking his heart to see his son go through such an ordeal.

One day, Mr. Johnson came into the cancer ward at the hospital, and found a man dressed in brightly colored clothes, standing at the foot of Tommy’s bed. The man was telling a story, except he wasn’t reading anything. He was sort of acting it out, assuming the roles of each character as the story unfolded.

When the story was sad, the man cried, …and so did Tommy. When the story was happy, the man smiled, …and so did Tommy. And when the story was funny, the man laughed out loud …and difficult as it was for him …Tommy laughed too.

Tommy’s father watched all of this from the doorway of the hospital room and there he experienced every emotion along with the two of them.

When the story was over, the man placed his hand on Tommy’s arm and told him that he enjoyed meeting him. He asked if he could come back and visit again sometime… "Maybe next week… would that be okay?".

Tommy nodded with wide eyes that showed a clarity that his father had not seen in a very long time.

As the man was leaving, Mr. Johnson stopped him in the hallway… "Sir I must thank you", he said. The man was very humble about the whole thing. He said that he liked to tell stories, and it seemed to cheer up some of the kids there, even if only for a little while.

Mr. Johnson said, "Mister… you don’t understand."

The man quickly replied, "It’s okay, really, I like kids, and I like to help out where ever I can".

Again Mr. Johnson said, "No… Sir, you don’t understand… it’s not just Tommy that you’ve helped. You see, I haven’t seen Tommy smile for about three months now, and as you were telling your story... when he smiled, I smiled. It’s been almost a year since I’ve heard Tommy laugh, and when he laughed, I laughed.

Mister, I have been at the end of my rope for a long time now. There have been times that I’ve been afraid that I’ll take my own life after Tommy is gone. But, I feel now as though I have the renewed strength I need for Tommy, and you’ve shown me that God is still alive and that he cares about us. Thank you for coming… and giving such a precious gift.

What I want you to know is that you didn’t just help Tommy today, because when you were doing this to Tommy, you were doing it to me."

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Friends this is how God feels when we help others.

Jesus wants us to know, that when one is in service to another, one is in service to Him. This is not a strategy to gain one's salvation. It is rather an invitation to share with others Christ's love and presence in our lives. It is an invitation to joyfully serve Christ, rather than simply meet human need.

What could be more Christ-like than to care for others who are afflicted, or lost, or alone?

It is through our own giving and service to others that we receive reward, both here on earth, and also in heaven.

And for this we are eternally grateful to our Lord and Savior. For it is though Christ that we receive not only our reward, but also our example of how to share this reward with others.