"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'" Matt. 25:40
As I walked into the sanctuary for church on Sunday, I was completely unaware of the great privilege the King would bestow on me. I sat toward the back, right in front of a man named, Jim. Jim is a special part of our community, due to severe cerebral palsy. He is exteremly limited in his ability to move, and requires a lot of assistance with the simplest of tasks. He is also nearly deaf, and due to the palsy, his speach is incredibly hard to understand. Jim sits in the back of the sanctuary so that he can wear special headphones to hear the service.
The worship time was strongly focused on the Cross of Christ, and moved reverently into a time of communion. While the elements were being passed, Jim leaned forward and started talking loudly to me (due to his poor hearing and the headphones, he has no way of knowing how loud he is talking). I got a bit flustered that I couldn't understand him well enough to figure out what he needed, and I knew that we were causing quite a distraction during this sacred time. I finally realized that he was asking me to help him take communion. My first thought was, "Sure, Jim, I'd be happy to help you!" But as I sat there preparing my own heart, the Lord opened my eyes to the privilege and blessing he was allowing me to have in this moment...the opportunity to serve one of the least of my brothers in the celebration of Christ's death. Jim, a man who has suffered greatly in his physical body, yet is so full of the Spirit's joy... to physically put the bread and the juice to his mouth so that he could celebrate His Savior's death, and rejoice in his salvation was a Holy gift!
3 comments:
Aren,t we blessed?!God allows us these very special moments along our way to actually feel His presence in a very unique way. What a special time!
Your mom and I were both brought to tears when we read this. God is so good. This incident is very touching to me since my Walk to Emmaus. The Lord's Supper has been so precious since my Walk.
Dad
This brought tears to my eyes! I do hope you keep it written somewhere. It is so, in keeping with what I have been studying about hospitality! God sends angels to us and he comes to us in forms we are unaware of. I recall Pat sharing a situation where he was humbled to minister to Jim. Maybe Jim is an angel among you! He could be a blessed reminder to "see Jesus in those we serve."
I have known Jim since his early days, in fact we went to school together, he is several years younger. At that time he was not bound to a wheelchair, but his walk as you can imagine was quite a site. He took most of the hallway at school or the sidewalk. In our small town school, all the kids looked out for Jim and helped him with books and dinner plates, at play times and in general, wherever and whenever help was needed. I have always enjoyed seeing him still when we visit your church, it's great to know he has a place to come and worship our God! I agree that God has placed Jims in the world to help us stay on track. What a blessing to be able to minister to him. Thank you Lord!
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