As a college student, I...
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As a college student, I heard Dr. Tony Campolo speak about caring for those who were
the "outcasts" of society. He shared, "One day, I was called to lead a service for a man
who died of AIDS. As we gathered at the cemetery for the graveside service, those who
gathered there began to ask me to read passage after passage of scripture that was special
to each one. You see, the men who were there all suffered from the same disease. No one
had ministered to them because they were thought to be too far from God's grace." A few
years later, as a pastor, I was confronted with a similar situation when an acquaintance
came and shared his illness with me. He felt that the church and especially the pastors
had made him an outcast. I held his hand while I prayed and gave him a hug upon leaving
my office. As he left, he said, "That is the first time I have been touched in months." In
the following months, I visited regularly and on that final day of his life, as tears were
streaming down my face, he whispered, "I know my Father loves me because you have
loved me." Who is my neighbor? In the words of Wesley, "The world is my parish."
