Bad smells, wrinkles, wheelchairs. These are not a few of my favorite things. Still, I found myself in the midst of them recently in a little place called Vista Ridge Nursing Center. I was singing along to the sweet tones of one by the name of Sam, and this Sam knew a secret. Unbeknownst to me, I was to speak that day to the ragged residents of Vista Ridge. In his negligence, Samuel forgot to ask me, and as he called my name, I wondered what I might say to such a group. I stood being gored by twenty pairs of aged eyes, and I began to preach a little sermonette from John 9.
I have one policy that I follow when I speak. I do not just talk because I am asked to do so. I speak because I have to, because I have something worth saying. I believe in what I say with all my being, and as I spoke to the little group of wrinkled eyes, I did everything I could to establish hope in their hearts with my words, with my own eloquence. In my impromptu attempt at hope-giving, I mentioned that a lady sitting in front (Ms. Scott) had a pretty hat on, that I really liked it. Covering her white hair was a green knit cap, a beautiful hat. She responded with a bashful smile and a tap to her greenish crown. Wrapping up my talk, I just knew that my words would surely help the haggard eyes who watched and the tired ears who listened.
I prayed the closing prayer that afternoon, and immediately, I went to speak to each of the elderly people present. I soon found myself in front of Ms. Scott. I knelt down beside her and gently held her hand, and looking up at me she said, "I'm glad you came today." I responded with a thanks for listening and prepared to move on. But, she held on tighter. Touching her cap she whispered, "I'm so glad you came," and a single tear rolled down her cheek. She let go of my hand and looked away. I was stunned. I stood up, and with my hand on her shoulder, I told her I loved her and was glad to meet her.
Ms. Scott, slightly smelly, wrinkled, and bound to a wheelchair, didn't need my eloquence or my words of hope. She needed a little hope in flesh. She needed a hand to hold and a compliment to warm her.
"Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me" Matthew 25:34-36. If you will permit me one extra line, "I wore a green hat and you cared."
God help me when I so stubbornly believe that my ability to speak is my ministry. Sometimes, I neglect to see the hope in a smile, or the love in a hand held. Maybe my best preaching is done outside of a pulpit. Maybe it is best done in those smelly places filled with green hats and single tears, those places filled with Jesus.
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