Dear Friends of Longview Chapel,
Have you ever needed help? I mean really needed help? Did someone stop to help you?
When Bill and I were first married, I drove a 1966 Mercury. It was huge. My dad, who tuned pianos at that time, had bought it to replace my 1971 Maverick that had given up the ghost. It literally was owned by a little more mature lady who bought it new and drove it only to church, shopping, and to friends’ homes nearby. It was in pristine condition and had just over 30,000 miles. It had lived in a garage when not in use, and as far as I could tell, was always handled with love and care. The problem that we didn’t know when my dad bought it, was that a car that is that old and has no real highway miles on it will burst every hose it has when taken on the highway, which is where I mostly drove.
It was a really comfortable car with leather seats, and it seemed like a great idea when I first got it to use it for my parents, Bill, and I to drive to my sister’s home for Thanksgiving – about 3 hours away from Kansas City. It was a super cold Thanksgiving with snow on the ground, and we were glad the car had a great heater. After a wonderful holiday, we left early in the day, planning to get home in plenty of time before it was dark. We were on I-70 no quite halfway home, still west of Topeka, when the car started to make an awful noise. I managed to pull it off the highway, but there we were in the freezing cold.
My mom had heart issues. My dad had asthma, and this was before cell phones. We were talking about options when a couple pulled off the road and asked if they could help. We all decided they should take my parents to the Turnpike service area, and they could call for a tow truck. I prayed these people would be good to my parents, and they were. They drove them the 15 miles to the service area, made sure they were able to get a tow truck, and shared coffee my parents offered to buy for them, which helped to calm my parents as they waited.
On that day, we really needed help. I have often wondered what we would have done had that couple not stopped and helped that day.
You and I are sometimes the people who need help, and sometimes we are the people who God is asking to give help — especially to those who are being ignored or mistreated or are considered less than human or non-essential. Jesus called those people “the least of these.”
In Matthew 25:35-40, Jesus was very clear that helping others is the same thing as helping him, especially “the least of these.” His story ends with verse 40: “Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.'” (The Message).
God’s Good News is that we are all loved. We are all worthy. And we are all called to share the love and help God has given us by sharing it freely with others. How will we be part of God’s Good News this week?
Celebrating the Good News with You,
Pastor Donna