by Rev Robert A Wendel
Do not overlook hospitality to (strangers), for some have entertained angels without knowing it. King David asked, “Is there no member of Saul’s family to whom I may show kindness? There is a son of Jonathan; he is a cripple, lame in both feet.” David replied “I mean to show him kindness for his father’s sake. Mephibosheth will be a regular guest at my table.” (Hebrews 13:2, 2Samual 9:3,10 NEB, NET
As a boy, I was fortunate to have been in the Cub Scout and Boy Scout Programs from age eight to age eighteen, earning the God and County Award. Later as a pastor after six years as a District Chairman in western New York State, I was awarded the Silver Beaver for outstanding service to the local Scout Council and its troops approved by the National BSA Court of Honor in 2003. Every Scout knows the Scout slogan “Do a Good Turn Daily”
“This does not mean that you should do one good turn every day and then stop. It means you should always be looking for opportunities to help others, quietly and without boasting. Remember that a good turn is an act of kindness, not just something you do because it is good manners. Good turns should be done for family, friends, children and adults and especially for those who are not able to do the task themselves.” The Boy Scout Handbook.
It was the noon hour Thursday, March 8th at a busy lunch counter in the Waffle House in La Marque, Texas when 18 year-old Evoni Williams noticed 78 year old Ardain Chpentair, who suffers from weakness in his hands, having trouble cutting his ham. So, Miss Williams offered to cut it for him. Another patron photographed it all and put it on the internet. A local college official saw the recorded event and responded giving the waitress a $16,000 scholarship for the next calendar year,
One Sunday, after concluding the weekly worship at the Beckley, WV VA Medical Center, an elderly volunteer asked me to have lunch with him at a nearby restaurant. VA staff lifted me into his Land Rover. After we finished our meal, we were in a tough spot until I noticed a pair of W.V. State Troopers eating and they kindly agreed to lift me into the chapel volunteer’s vehicle, one cop saying “Glad to do it chaplain. You prayed with my dad before his same day surgery at the VA.”
A Moroccan proverb says “God is merciful to those who are kind.”