The Touch Of Human Kindness
Sermon
All About Eve
Ten Selected Women of the Bible
Object:
It was a cold and icy day in January as a gasoline truck
made its way toward its first stop. Just as the truck rounded a
curve, the semi jackknifed and skidded off the road and into a
parking lot. A 23-year-old woman was getting into her car just as
the semi skidded into it. The car turned over onto its side ...
the young woman was pinned underneath ... and the gasoline
spilling from the truck caught fire. The truck and the car
shielded the young woman from the flames, but the heat was
intense. The heat was making the paint on the car blister. There
was a danger of the gasoline truck exploding.
The first firefighters on the scene immediately started spraying water on the young woman to keep her from burning. But she was frightened. She pleaded for someone to get her out, but the firemen had to wait for additional equipment to help free her from the wreckage.
While they were waiting, one of the firemen crawled in to tell her the situation. She became hysterical with fear when she was told she would have to wait. So the fireman reached out his hand and said to her: "Take hold of my hand. Whatever happens, I won't leave you."
So, with an inferno burning only a few feet away and the very real danger of an explosion, the firefighter lay there holding the hand of a trapped and frightened young woman.
Finally, the crane arrived. Although it had seemed to be an eternity, only twelve minutes had passed. The crane lifted the car up a little bit. The woman was dragged to freedom and rushed to the hospital.
Later, in the hospital, a news reporter asked the young woman, "What do you remember the most about being trapped under that car with the fire raging only a few feet away?"
Without hesitation, the young woman said: "The thing I remember the most is that fireman risking his life and staying there with me to hold my hand. His hand is what kept me sane. His hand was the touch of human kindness that calmed my fears."
What had impressed this young woman the most was not the overwhelming fear gripping her heart ... it was not the loneliness of being trapped ... it was not the promise that help was on its way. The thing that impressed this young woman the most was the touch of someone's hand upon hers.
The touch of human kindness has a powerful impact upon everyone's life because all of us feel lonely at times. All of us have those times when we are afraid. All of us have a need to feel the touch of human kindness upon our lives.
I wonder if we really appreciate how essential the touch of human kindness is to life. Dr. Samuel Johnson said: "Kindness may not be all the creed this world needs, but it does need it desperately."
The absence of simple kindness is responsible for a great deal of our unhappiness. There is a lot of sin in this world, but there is an even greater absence of sympathy and understanding. So often we get caught up in the rush of life and become so engrossed in our own little wishes and wants that we develop an impersonal, unfeeling attitude toward people. We become so wrapped up in our own world that we keep other people at arm's length and never really notice those opportunities to reach out with the touch of human kindness.
But Jesus never lost sight of the individual need to feel the touch of human kindness. He not only preached to the multitude, fed the thousands, and healed lepers and the sick that came to him by the thousands, but he also had an instinctive feeling for the needs of the individual. His interest in people was personal. It was his quickness in understanding, it was his instinctive feeling that compelled him to reach out and touch people with kindness.
I like this Scripture passage in Matthew. It very clearly portrays the touch of human kindness that seemed to be instinctive with Jesus. "On entering the house Jesus noticed that Peter's mother-in-law was down with a fever."
Jesus had a quick eye. He was sensitive to a need and he saw it when he entered the house. He was in Capernaum for a rest and was returning from the synagogue. There was not a crowd of people around him -- only his disciples. He did not have to impress anyone and yet, when he entered the house, he saw that Peter's mother-in-law was down with a fever. (The fever she had was most likely malaria which was very common to that part of the world.) Here was a woman tossing with a fever, and Jesus reached out and touched her because he cared about her. He touched her with the "quinine of kindness."
How many times from the life and ministry of Jesus do we learn that the touch of human kindness is important? The Good Samaritan was not the one who saw a need and passed by, but the one who stopped and administered the healing touch. The woman in the crowd who touched the hem of his garment was surprised that Jesus would show her any kindness. Children seemed to know instinctively that Jesus had time for them. One day when they tried to go to him, the children were stopped by the disciples. But Jesus said: "Suffer the little children to come unto me, do not hinder them." According to Jesus, the last judgment itself turns on whether a person has the touch of human kindness. It is little acts of kindness like feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, giving a drink to someone who is thirsty, or visiting those who are sick or in prison. All these acts of kindness will be important on that day.
With the examples of Jesus so clear and his teaching so explicit, it is strange that more attention has not been given to this touch of human kindness. Maybe we need to look a little more closely at the life and teaching of Jesus. If we do, we will discover the touch of human kindness is the hallmark of real faith.
I. The Touch Of Human Kindness Opens Our Eyes To See Those In Need
As soon as Jesus walked into Peter's house, he saw someone in need and reached out to help her. In our more honest moments, we have to confess that we have blinders on when it comes to seeing people in need. We may see them and their need, but we have problems of our own and, thus, shrink from any human contact that might require us to become involved.
A church leader, James Cox, who is Professor of Preaching at a seminary in Kentucky, told about walking through an airport terminal one day. He was scheduled to speak to a conference meeting of about 500 ministers and their wives. His plane had been delayed. Now he had to rush to make his speaking engagement on time. Mentally, he was going over his speech while walking briskly through the airport terminal to grab a taxi. Suddenly a man with an outstretched hand approached him for help. The man was staggering as if drunk and Dr. Cox hurriedly walked on by because he was too busy and too late to be bothered by a drunk. Dr. Cox said: "Later I learned that the man I thought was drunk was actually having a heart attack, and he was reaching out to someone for help."
How many times have we been in a similar situation? How many times have we gotten so wrapped up in our own little world that we don't see those in need? We don't notice the misery of the world around us? We don't care about the injustice happening to some people? How many times have we walked on by while others were reaching out to us for help? With the fast pace we live and our own peculiar set of problems, it is easy for us to get wrapped up in ourselves. It is easy for us to walk on by. It is easy for us to ignore those opportunities where the touch of human kindness might have helped someone.
However, if we are truly to be followers of Jesus Christ, we must learn to look at the world around us through Christ-colored glasses. That means we must learn to look at the world through the eyes of Jesus Christ.
II. The Touch Of Human Kindness Reminds Us To Treat People With Dignity
Whenever you see Jesus in the Scripture, there is one thing always clear. He treated people with a sense of dignity and respect. He accepted people as they were. Zacchaeus, a tax collector, was ridiculed and hated. Yet Jesus went home with him to share a meal. A woman taken in the act of adultery and thrown at his feet was treated as a human being in need of forgiveness. A woman of questionable character approached Jesus and some wondered why he treated her with dignity and respect. Jesus seemed to know instinctively that the greatest need for some people is to be accepted and treated with respect.
When I was a child, my grandfather would quote a little poem. It went:
I eat my peas with honey.
I've done it all my life.
It makes the peas taste funny,
But it keeps them on the knife.
Now that poem didn't make any sense to me since I had never seen anyone eat peas with a knife. However, that used to be a custom of some we would call Hillbillies. Last year, Guideposts magazine had a story about a woman who did eat peas with a knife. Cori Connors grew up in the Depression years. One day her father brought home a man named Henry. Henry was a hobo. Henry was hungry and had been invited to eat with the family that evening.
When the meal was served, Henry grabbed his knife and started eating his English peas. Cori and the other children at the table were astonished at Henry's ability to balance the peas on the knife. Soon, all of the children were giggling and pointing at Henry.
The father gave them a stern look to quiet them. Then he laid down his fork and picked up his knife and began attempting to eat peas with his knife. He was not nearly as successful as Henry, but he kept at it until he captured and ate every pea with his knife.
That day, Cori Connors and her whole family learned a valuable lesson. They learned that kindness was the most important of manners. They learned that accepting people for who they are is important. They learned that treating people, even those who are different from us -- treating all people -- with dignity is the touch of human kindness.
III. The Touch Of Human Kindness Helps Lead People To God
Sometimes the only picture some people have of God is the life you and I live. We may not be able to talk to people about the need of God in their lives, but if we keep our eyes open to be of service, we can be a living witness of God's love to those who would not listen to our words. Sometimes the action of human kindness can break down barriers and open doors that our words would never be able to budge.
Robert McCracken tells of a Methodist minister by the name of W. H. Lax who was pastor for 38 years on the east end of London. He learned one day that an old man was gravely ill and went to call on him. As soon as the sick man discovered his visitor was a minister, he refused to talk to him. The minister was an unwelcome guest. While trying to sustain a conversation, Reverend Lax noted the dreariness of the room and the pitifully small fire, and he suspected that provisions had run low.
When he left, he passed by a butcher shop and had two lamb chops sent to the house. He called again a few days later and although the old man was still far from talkative, he was friendlier. On the way home, the minister again left an order of two lamb chops with the butcher. By the third visit there was a change: the old man was even more friendly and even asked the minister to read Psalm 23 and have a word of prayer with him.
A preaching engagement took the minister out of town for a few days. When he returned he was informed that the old man had died and had left a message. The message, scribbled on a piece of paper, said: "Dear Reverend, I want you to know that I'm going home to God. I want you to know that it wasn't your preaching that changed me, it was those lamb chops. They told me that you really cared. Your friend."
Yes, the touch of human kindness can break down barriers of misunderstanding. The touch of human kindness can help lead people to God by allowing them to see something of God's love shining through your life. The touch of human kindness is one of the hallmarks of our faith. Can others see something of God in your life? Is the touch of human kindness a hallmark of your faith? Remember what Jesus said: "Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these ... you did it to me."
Prayer
O God, teach us the art of being kind to all people simply because it is the right thing to do. In Jesus' name. Amen.
The first firefighters on the scene immediately started spraying water on the young woman to keep her from burning. But she was frightened. She pleaded for someone to get her out, but the firemen had to wait for additional equipment to help free her from the wreckage.
While they were waiting, one of the firemen crawled in to tell her the situation. She became hysterical with fear when she was told she would have to wait. So the fireman reached out his hand and said to her: "Take hold of my hand. Whatever happens, I won't leave you."
So, with an inferno burning only a few feet away and the very real danger of an explosion, the firefighter lay there holding the hand of a trapped and frightened young woman.
Finally, the crane arrived. Although it had seemed to be an eternity, only twelve minutes had passed. The crane lifted the car up a little bit. The woman was dragged to freedom and rushed to the hospital.
Later, in the hospital, a news reporter asked the young woman, "What do you remember the most about being trapped under that car with the fire raging only a few feet away?"
Without hesitation, the young woman said: "The thing I remember the most is that fireman risking his life and staying there with me to hold my hand. His hand is what kept me sane. His hand was the touch of human kindness that calmed my fears."
What had impressed this young woman the most was not the overwhelming fear gripping her heart ... it was not the loneliness of being trapped ... it was not the promise that help was on its way. The thing that impressed this young woman the most was the touch of someone's hand upon hers.
The touch of human kindness has a powerful impact upon everyone's life because all of us feel lonely at times. All of us have those times when we are afraid. All of us have a need to feel the touch of human kindness upon our lives.
I wonder if we really appreciate how essential the touch of human kindness is to life. Dr. Samuel Johnson said: "Kindness may not be all the creed this world needs, but it does need it desperately."
The absence of simple kindness is responsible for a great deal of our unhappiness. There is a lot of sin in this world, but there is an even greater absence of sympathy and understanding. So often we get caught up in the rush of life and become so engrossed in our own little wishes and wants that we develop an impersonal, unfeeling attitude toward people. We become so wrapped up in our own world that we keep other people at arm's length and never really notice those opportunities to reach out with the touch of human kindness.
But Jesus never lost sight of the individual need to feel the touch of human kindness. He not only preached to the multitude, fed the thousands, and healed lepers and the sick that came to him by the thousands, but he also had an instinctive feeling for the needs of the individual. His interest in people was personal. It was his quickness in understanding, it was his instinctive feeling that compelled him to reach out and touch people with kindness.
I like this Scripture passage in Matthew. It very clearly portrays the touch of human kindness that seemed to be instinctive with Jesus. "On entering the house Jesus noticed that Peter's mother-in-law was down with a fever."
Jesus had a quick eye. He was sensitive to a need and he saw it when he entered the house. He was in Capernaum for a rest and was returning from the synagogue. There was not a crowd of people around him -- only his disciples. He did not have to impress anyone and yet, when he entered the house, he saw that Peter's mother-in-law was down with a fever. (The fever she had was most likely malaria which was very common to that part of the world.) Here was a woman tossing with a fever, and Jesus reached out and touched her because he cared about her. He touched her with the "quinine of kindness."
How many times from the life and ministry of Jesus do we learn that the touch of human kindness is important? The Good Samaritan was not the one who saw a need and passed by, but the one who stopped and administered the healing touch. The woman in the crowd who touched the hem of his garment was surprised that Jesus would show her any kindness. Children seemed to know instinctively that Jesus had time for them. One day when they tried to go to him, the children were stopped by the disciples. But Jesus said: "Suffer the little children to come unto me, do not hinder them." According to Jesus, the last judgment itself turns on whether a person has the touch of human kindness. It is little acts of kindness like feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, giving a drink to someone who is thirsty, or visiting those who are sick or in prison. All these acts of kindness will be important on that day.
With the examples of Jesus so clear and his teaching so explicit, it is strange that more attention has not been given to this touch of human kindness. Maybe we need to look a little more closely at the life and teaching of Jesus. If we do, we will discover the touch of human kindness is the hallmark of real faith.
I. The Touch Of Human Kindness Opens Our Eyes To See Those In Need
As soon as Jesus walked into Peter's house, he saw someone in need and reached out to help her. In our more honest moments, we have to confess that we have blinders on when it comes to seeing people in need. We may see them and their need, but we have problems of our own and, thus, shrink from any human contact that might require us to become involved.
A church leader, James Cox, who is Professor of Preaching at a seminary in Kentucky, told about walking through an airport terminal one day. He was scheduled to speak to a conference meeting of about 500 ministers and their wives. His plane had been delayed. Now he had to rush to make his speaking engagement on time. Mentally, he was going over his speech while walking briskly through the airport terminal to grab a taxi. Suddenly a man with an outstretched hand approached him for help. The man was staggering as if drunk and Dr. Cox hurriedly walked on by because he was too busy and too late to be bothered by a drunk. Dr. Cox said: "Later I learned that the man I thought was drunk was actually having a heart attack, and he was reaching out to someone for help."
How many times have we been in a similar situation? How many times have we gotten so wrapped up in our own little world that we don't see those in need? We don't notice the misery of the world around us? We don't care about the injustice happening to some people? How many times have we walked on by while others were reaching out to us for help? With the fast pace we live and our own peculiar set of problems, it is easy for us to get wrapped up in ourselves. It is easy for us to walk on by. It is easy for us to ignore those opportunities where the touch of human kindness might have helped someone.
However, if we are truly to be followers of Jesus Christ, we must learn to look at the world around us through Christ-colored glasses. That means we must learn to look at the world through the eyes of Jesus Christ.
II. The Touch Of Human Kindness Reminds Us To Treat People With Dignity
Whenever you see Jesus in the Scripture, there is one thing always clear. He treated people with a sense of dignity and respect. He accepted people as they were. Zacchaeus, a tax collector, was ridiculed and hated. Yet Jesus went home with him to share a meal. A woman taken in the act of adultery and thrown at his feet was treated as a human being in need of forgiveness. A woman of questionable character approached Jesus and some wondered why he treated her with dignity and respect. Jesus seemed to know instinctively that the greatest need for some people is to be accepted and treated with respect.
When I was a child, my grandfather would quote a little poem. It went:
I eat my peas with honey.
I've done it all my life.
It makes the peas taste funny,
But it keeps them on the knife.
Now that poem didn't make any sense to me since I had never seen anyone eat peas with a knife. However, that used to be a custom of some we would call Hillbillies. Last year, Guideposts magazine had a story about a woman who did eat peas with a knife. Cori Connors grew up in the Depression years. One day her father brought home a man named Henry. Henry was a hobo. Henry was hungry and had been invited to eat with the family that evening.
When the meal was served, Henry grabbed his knife and started eating his English peas. Cori and the other children at the table were astonished at Henry's ability to balance the peas on the knife. Soon, all of the children were giggling and pointing at Henry.
The father gave them a stern look to quiet them. Then he laid down his fork and picked up his knife and began attempting to eat peas with his knife. He was not nearly as successful as Henry, but he kept at it until he captured and ate every pea with his knife.
That day, Cori Connors and her whole family learned a valuable lesson. They learned that kindness was the most important of manners. They learned that accepting people for who they are is important. They learned that treating people, even those who are different from us -- treating all people -- with dignity is the touch of human kindness.
III. The Touch Of Human Kindness Helps Lead People To God
Sometimes the only picture some people have of God is the life you and I live. We may not be able to talk to people about the need of God in their lives, but if we keep our eyes open to be of service, we can be a living witness of God's love to those who would not listen to our words. Sometimes the action of human kindness can break down barriers and open doors that our words would never be able to budge.
Robert McCracken tells of a Methodist minister by the name of W. H. Lax who was pastor for 38 years on the east end of London. He learned one day that an old man was gravely ill and went to call on him. As soon as the sick man discovered his visitor was a minister, he refused to talk to him. The minister was an unwelcome guest. While trying to sustain a conversation, Reverend Lax noted the dreariness of the room and the pitifully small fire, and he suspected that provisions had run low.
When he left, he passed by a butcher shop and had two lamb chops sent to the house. He called again a few days later and although the old man was still far from talkative, he was friendlier. On the way home, the minister again left an order of two lamb chops with the butcher. By the third visit there was a change: the old man was even more friendly and even asked the minister to read Psalm 23 and have a word of prayer with him.
A preaching engagement took the minister out of town for a few days. When he returned he was informed that the old man had died and had left a message. The message, scribbled on a piece of paper, said: "Dear Reverend, I want you to know that I'm going home to God. I want you to know that it wasn't your preaching that changed me, it was those lamb chops. They told me that you really cared. Your friend."
Yes, the touch of human kindness can break down barriers of misunderstanding. The touch of human kindness can help lead people to God by allowing them to see something of God's love shining through your life. The touch of human kindness is one of the hallmarks of our faith. Can others see something of God in your life? Is the touch of human kindness a hallmark of your faith? Remember what Jesus said: "Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these ... you did it to me."
Prayer
O God, teach us the art of being kind to all people simply because it is the right thing to do. In Jesus' name. Amen.
