We Have Sheep!

Monday night was particularly cold.

In Matthew 25, Jesus talks about separating the righteous from the unrighteous, just as a shepherd would separate sheep from goats. He rewards the righteous for being selfless and generous and Jesus thanks them because when he was hungry; they fed them, when he was thirsty; they gave him something to drink, when he was a stranger; they invited him in to their homes, when he needed clothes; they clothed him, when he was sick; they looked after him and when he was in prison, they visited him (vs.35-36).

These righteous people are confused by Jesus’ great compliment and ask him: “Lord, when did we do any of these things for you?” (vs.37-39). And the King of Glory replies: “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” (v.40).

* * *

On Monday night my wife and I were walking around our neighborhood of downtown Oak Park. While we stepped on a new block I saw a man—about 200 feet away—walking towards us. I looked at him, squinting, thinking to myself, “Is he wearing a Youth Councils sweatshirt?” I didn’t think it could be possible because there were only 500 of those black, hooded, “I’ll Fight” sweatshirts printed and I knew all the people who had received them and only a few of those people lived near us. And I did not know this man.

As we walked towards each other, I realized that this man was, indeed, wearing that same “I’ll Fight” sweatshirt that I had been so proud to give our passionate youth a month ago. I also realized that this man was old and homeless. As he got closer the words of William Booth—that were sprawled upon his chest—became clear:

While women weep as they do now, I’ll fight;
While little children go hungry, as they do now, I’ll fight;
While men go to prison, in and out, in and out, I’ll fight;
While there is a drunkard left,
While there is a poor lost girl upon the streets,
While there remains one dark soul without the light of God, I’ll fight—
I’ll fight to the very end!

I looked at Jesus’ brother, smiled and said, “Cool sweatshirt.” He looked at me, grinned and yelled, “THANKS!” Then he kept walking on his way, knowing full well how cool he looked in his Hoodie.

I’ve spent the last week thinking about this brief interaction. Convinced that one of our youth had clothed the very Son of God. Blessed that I could witness Jesus Christ in my midst, walking in my neighborhood, loving his cool sweatshirt.