Three Stories

Sermon Text

The first church I worked for was named for a Roman soldier.

I was ordained in 1986 and went to work as an assistant priest in a church in St. Louis. The church was St. Martin's Episcopal Church.
 
Martin was a Roman soldier back in the fourth century. Roman soldiers had important gear, especially a sword and a great cloak. When Martin left the army, he was allowed to keep his sword and cloak.
 
One winter day, Martin was riding a horse into a city. He saw a beggar standing by the road. Martin had no money to give, but the beggar was shivering in the cold. So Martin got down from his horse. He took off his great cloak and drew his sword. He cut his cloak in two and gave half of it to the beggar. The shivering man smiled and wrapped himself in the torn cloak. "Bless you, sir," the beggar said.  "What is your name?" The former soldier answered, "My name is Martin."
 
That night, Martin had a dream. In his dream, he was allowed to see the court of heaven. He saw angels. And then he saw Jesus himself among the angels. Jesus was wrapped in the old torn cloak of a Roman soldier. One of the angels said, "Lord, why are you wearing that ragged old cloak?  Where did you get it?" Jesus answered, "My friend Martin gave it to me."
 
After he was a Roman soldier, Martin became a monk and then a bishop. But that's not why he is remembered. He is remembered for this story of giving half his cloak to a beggar who turned out to be Jesus in disguise.
 
Jesus said, "Whatever you do for the least of these, you do for me."
 
Another story of a former soldier. Martin's story comes from the fourth century. This story comes from the thirteenth.
 
This soldier, unlike Martin, was well-born and wealthy. But he was not a happy person. He felt like something was missing from his life. One day, like Martin, he was out riding a horse. Like Martin before him, he, too, saw a beggar. And this beggar had leprosy. The beggar's face was disfigured by his wasting disease.
 
Something moved in the former soldier's heart. He got down off his horse and he flung his arms around the beggar. As he embraced this suffering man, he had a vision. He kissed the wounded face of the beggar, and before his amazed eyes, the beggar's face changed. His face became the face of Jesus.
 
The former soldier's name was Francesco. We call him Francis...Francis of Assisi. He was famous for his love, and for seeing Christ in every person he met.
Jesus said, "Whatever you do for the least of these, you do for me."
 
I once read about a woman named Julie. Julie had a chronic disease. This disease left her living on liquid protein and pain medications. Her weight dropped below a hundred pounds. Julie had a close friend. This friend was very concerned. And she spent a lot of time with Julie.
 
The friend kept offering suggestions to Julie. "Maybe you should try this...maybe you should try this....or this." Then the friend realized something. She wrote, "After a while, I had nothing to say. I could not pray anymore. Julie was not healed and she was not getting better. And I started to avoid her because I could not help with her illness."
 
And then this friend read the story from Matthew's Gospel, the one we heard today. It's the story of the hidden king who said, "I was sick and you visited me." The story got to her heart.
 
She wrote, "I saw with new eyes what the Lord expected. The king did not say, 'I was sick and you healed me,' or 'I was sick and you gave me all the right answers.' The king said, 'You visited me.' It is so simple! I realized what Julie needed was my care."
 
Julie's friend could not give solutions, but she could give time and care. It's not about our ability to fix things or give advice. It's about letting people know they are not alone. It's about showing that God cares for them and so do we. It's about being there, being present.
 
Jesus said, "Whatever you do for the least of these, you do for me."
 
According to Matthew's Gospel, some day we will appear before the king. All of our earthly treasures will be gone. But all the treasure we have given away to someone else will be there....in the hands of Jesus. And Jesus will smile and say to the angels, "Look...my friend here gave all this to me."
 
Jesus said, "Whatever you do for the least of these, you do for me."
 
Julie's friend.

Francis of Assisi.
 
Martin the Monk.
​
Their stories tell the same story.
It's the story of how we show our love for Christ the King.
He is the king of our hearts.
 
And he says, "Whatever you do for the least of these, you do for me."