Michael Jordan ......is considered by some ......to be the greatest basketball player... of all time.
For most of us, ...... the scenes we remember ....... are the slam-dunks ....... while taking off ......from the free-throw line.
The fame, ... the popularity, ... the commercials, ... the championships.
But I would like to share with you ...... another side of Michael Jordan... that you may not be aware of.
It involved a young boy ...by the name of: Cornelius (Cor-nel-ius).
He was a thin, ... and an extremely quiet boy.
His mother and her boyfriend had tortured, ... abused ....and starved... Cornelius and his four-year-old brother.
The police discovered the abuse ... in time to save Cornelius, ......but it had been too late ....to save ......his 4-year old ... younger brother.
The newspaper reporter... who had been covering the story, ...mentioned in one of his columns ...that Cornelius' ...had a passion ...for basketball.
Steve Schanwald (Schan-wald), ...a vice president of the Chicago Bulls, ......read the column ... and called the reporter.
Though tickets to Bulls' games ...were without exception .... sold out.
(Schan-wald) said ...... that if Cornelius would like to come to a game ......he would make sure ......that tickets ... would be available.
The reporter took him ...to the game.
And I share this story ...from "his" perspective.
To every Chicago youngster .... who follows basketball, ...the Chicago Bulls arena ....is a shrine.
Think of where Cornelius once was, .... locked up ... tormented ...and hurting.
And now he was in the great arena, ...... about to see ...his first Bulls game.
Well ...... We walked down a stairway, ...until we were in a ... lower level hallway.
Then the door opened ...and a man came out.
Cornelius looked up,... and his eyes "filled" with a combination of wonder, ... awe .... and total disbelief.
He tried to speak ... then the man helped him out ......by speaking first.
"Hi, Cornelius," .... the man said...... "I'm Michael Jordan."
Jordan knelt down ......and spoke quietly with Cornelius.
He made some jokes ...and told some stories about basketball ... but Michael... did not rush the moment.
You have to understand ... for a long time... the only adults Cornelius had any contact with ...were adults .... who hurt him.
Jordan went back into the locker room...... to finish dressing ...for the game.
I walked Cornelius back upstairs .... to the court.
Ah ... but there...... was one more surprise ... waiting.
Cornelius was given a red shirt.... the kind .... worn by the Bulls' ...ball boys.
He retrieved balls for the players ... from both teams ...as they warmed up.
Then, .... as the game was about to begin, ... he was Led to Jordan's seat ...on the Bulls' bench.
That is where he was going to sit .... right next to ...Michael Jordan. (Pause)
Now ...At one point late in the game ...Jordan took a pass ......sailed into the air... and slammed home a basket.
......... Air Jordan!
And there, ... just a few feet away, ...was Cornelius Abraham, ...laughing out loud... filled with joy.
As we all applauded the incredible basket....... the act of kindness that Jordan and the Bulls had shown to Cornelius ......was receiving ... the applause .... of heaven.
Beloved ....... "Greatness in the kingdom of Heaven ...is measured ...... (Slow) by small acts of kindness." (Pause)
In today's Gospel reading ...we hear the words of our Lord concerning ... "Small acts of kindness" ....... Small acts of service ...to others.
In Order to understand this Gospel text ...you need to know ... that in the countryside, ... sheep and goats ...mingled ......during the day.
Yet ... At night ...they were often separated ...by the Sheppard.
Sheep tolerated the cooler air, ... while the goats ...had to be herded together... for warmth.
Here we find Jesus .......... taking this common activity of a shepherd ...and applying... deep symbolism ...to it.
As is typical of Hebrew poetry, ... we do not have any gray areas in our text.
The picture is painted sharply ...in black and white.
All fall into one of two classes ... symbolically, sheep ... and goats.
The sheep, ...... identified as the righteous ...are given the right hand, ... which is the place of power and honor.
The distinction between sheep and goats ...is easy ...for anyone to distinguish.
(Slow) And the righteous, ... represented by the sheep...... are identified ...in these ways.
(1 Finger) The righteous provided others ... with simple acts of kindness.
Notice the simple responses our Lord noted ...in the actions ...of the righteous.
Giving someone... a drink of cold water, ...something to eat, ......clothes to wear ... a visit.
These are simple acts ....... basic acts of kindness...No pomp, ...no plaque, ...no prestige.
God's followers ... are noted for numerous acts ...of kindness... simple acts .... Of self-sacrificing ...service.
Acts.... rendered .... to those ...that God places into their lives... without any fanfare (Long Pause)
(1 Finger) So .... The righteous are noted for simple acts of kindness.
And (2 Fingers) The righteous use Their resources ...to be a blessing. (Pause)
An unusual part of this judgment scene ... is the way ......those on the left hand .... try to excuse themselves ... on the grounds ...that they ...had no opportunity ...to show such acts ....to the Lord.
They ask in a tone of injured innocence, BIBLE "Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?" Note the King's response, "Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these you did not do it to me." END Matthew 25:44-45
It is not so much wrong-doing ...that evokes the Severest Censure, .... but the utter failure .... (Slow) ...to do good.
The sin of omission ... is seen ......as more serious ......than the sin ...of commission.
Just as the door was shut on the foolish bridesmaids.... for their negligence.
So those on the left are lost ......for failing to act on .... the many opportunities ... for portraying kindness ...which were given them. (Pause)
Beloved ... We are ...... "Blessed ...to be a blessing.
So ... How then ......do we ... become rich toward God?
It is not that complicated: (Slow) We become rich toward God ... by passing simple ...yet powerful blessings on ...to others.
In 1921, Lewis Lawes ...became the warden ...at Sing Sing Prison.
No prison was tougher than Sing Sing ...during that period of time.
But when Warden Lawes retired some 20 years later, ...that prison ......had become ......a humanitarian institution.
Those who studied the system... said credit for the change belonged ......to Lawes.
But when he was asked ...about the transformation, ......here is what he said:
"I owe it all to my wonderful wife, Catherine, .... who is buried ......outside the prison walls." (Pause)
Now Catherine Lawes ...was a young mother .... with three small children ...when her husband ...became the warden.
Everyone warned her from the beginning ...... that she should never set foot ...inside the prison walls, ... but that did not stop ......Catherine!
When the first prison basketball game was held, ...she was there.
Walking into the gymnasium ...with her three beautiful children... she sat in the stands .... with the inmates.
Her attitude was: ...... "My husband and I are going to take care of these men ...and I believe in turn... they will take care.... of me!"
She insisted .... on getting acquainted ....with the inmates.
She discovered one convicted murderer was blind ...so she paid him a visit.
(Slow) Holding his hand in hers .... she asked, "Do you read Braille?"
"What's Braille?" ...he asked...... Then she taught him how to read.
Years later ......he would weep in love .... for her.
Later, Catherine found a deaf-mute ....in prison.
She went to school ... to learn sign language ...and then taught it ....to the prisoner.
Many said that Catherine Lawes .... was the embodiment of Jesus ... that came alive again in Sing Sing ...from 1921 to 1937.
In 1937, .... Catherine was killed in a car accident.
The next morning Lewis Lawes did not come to work, ...so the acting warden... took his place.
It seemed ...almost instantly .... that the prison knew ...something was wrong.
The following day, ......her body was resting in a casket ....in her home, ...near the prison.
As the acting warden took his early morning walk, ...he was shocked to see a large crowd ...of the toughest, hardest criminals ... gathered like a herd of lost sheep ....at the main gate.
He came closer ....and noted tears of grief and sadness.
He turned and faced the men, ... "All right, men, you can go."
Then he opened the gate ...and a parade of criminals walked, ....to stand in line ....to pay their final respects ....to Catherine Lawes. (Long Pause)
O' Beloved...You will find, ...... as you look back on life, ... that the moments that stand out ... are the moments ...when you have shown... kindness ... small acts of kindness ... to others.
And you will find ... Serving others ...Being a servant in Christ-like ways ......will also light a spark ...in your own spiritual life.
As the Apostle James so clearly proclaims (Slow) "Faith without works.... is dead." (James 2:20)
To have a faith filled life ... takes more than belief.
It requires ...a yielded heart ... a changed heart... a heart that yearns ... to walk in the will of their Lord.
A heart ...that has been transformed ...and is being continuously transformed...by the Holy Spirit.
A heart that has been changed... a heart that yearns to be a blessing to others.
(1 Finger) So...The righteous ...are noted for simple acts of kindness.
(2 Fingers) The righteous ...use their resources to be a blessing.
(3 Fingers) The righteous are surprised ...by the significance.... of their actions.
True disciples, .... true image bearers of God....will love ...and serve the least...... with compassion.
And In so doing .... they serve Christ.
Those who have little sympathy for the Gospel of the kingdom ...will remain indifferent...... and, in so doing, ... They reject Jesus.
The way we respond to those that God puts in our life, ... in turn ... is the way we are responding to Christ.
Beloved... You can make a difference. (Long Pause)
My wife Lee ... closes the door to her office and prays almost every morning.
This particular morning she asked God to allow her to be an exceptional blessing ......to someone that day.
Shortly thereafter .... She went to get her morning ice tea ...at McDonald's.
Marie ...who normally works the first window at the drive up... ...Lee seems to know everyone at both McDonald's.... Asked if ...Lee would sew her some pillows ...because her sewing machine was broken.
Lee knew she did not have time to sew them... but by the time she got home ......God gave her the answer.
Lee also realized .... That she had left.... Without giving Marie the money......for the ice-tea.
Lee had a brand-new sewing machine... still in the box.... And she was moved by God....to give it to Marie.
She asked what I thought.... I knew ... that it was from God.
I am so proud of her... Lee has such a caring heart.
She wrote a note... and took the Sewing Machine.... To McDonald's to give to Marie.
Marie is not normally in the lobby.... But she was ....as Lee entered ...with her big box.
She handed the box to Maria ...and said it was hers to keep... and the note would share why.
Marie and Lee spoke for a short while .... When Lee remembered ... she owed her for the ice tea.
She began to pull out her wallet and Marie said No but Lee insisted.
The manager who had heard most of the conversation ... stepped forward... and said.... you do not need ....to pay anything.
O' Beloved (Slow) you can .... make a difference.
Your life, .... your simple acts of mercy,... of kindness ....of compassion .... Will not only impact the hearts of those who receive ... but your heart will begin to mold into the likeness of Jesus.
You are children ...of the most high.
You are a child of the King of King.
You are children of the Light.
(Slow) Our Lord's sheep... are a people of reconciliation ... extending grace to all.
Our Lord's sheep serve with compassion; ...
(Slow) They serve with simple acts of kindness.
They serve ... with simple acts ...of love.
Amen and Amen!
Help: I retired in November 2017 and am attempting to supplement my income by sharing on Sermoncentral. If this Message has been helpful to you, please consider a nominal donation: Send to St. Luke's Ministries 3810 Ridgewood Rd Copley OH 44321 (Write on the Memo line - Pastor Smead). Blessed To Be A Blessing.
I received much insight for this Message from my Wife Lee and from a sermon by Tom Evens Titled "We are His Hands" and I commend it to you.
Dear Reader: So I can better help you, if this Message was not helpful and you rated it low, Please let me know what it lacked or why it was not helpful. You can search by contributor Smead (Constructive Criticism is very helpful) and contact me there. Blessings in Christ. Jeff
