You’re always on mission.
You’re never off the clock.
Even Christ called out the Pharisees when they waited to see if He would heal on the Sabbath.
* * *
It was the result of an unplanned venture in the evening with my ministry hosts from Bulgaria and my teammate, Liz. We were walking around Thessalonica, taking in the sights when our hosts turned aside to a church. The sanctuary was open to the public but empty apart from the priest performing the evening liturgy… and an elderly, homeless man who came to pray.
We saw him before he saw us. He shuffled around, taking just about the smallest steps you ever witnessed. As he made his way past us to exit the church he turned back to cross himself and say a parting prayer as is the custom of the Orthodox Church. In doing so, however, being so frail and weak as he was, he nearly fell over and would have had our host not caught him.
Liz and I made our way over to him. When he had regained his composure, such as it was, he began to ask for money, as far as we could determine from his broken English and hoarse voice. As much as it pained me I didn’t give him any for fear he might abuse it. But it didn’t seem right to leave him with nothing. With that I/we did what we could in the circumstance: we prayed for him. We prayed though we didn’t know for what specifically to ask. And when we finished, though I felt helpless, both for myself and for him, we parted.
We walked along and perused the windows of shopkeepers. On we went on an stroll without aim. At one we stopped for decent length. I waited outside as the others went in.
And no sooner had they entered that this homeless man from man the church approached me again!
But it was clear to me at that point that this aimless evening had now found its purpose. Opportunity was knocking. Holy Spirit was knocking on my heart.
For me in recent years, walking by opportunity and ignoring the call of the Spirit have been some of my greatest personal struggles and the cause of much grief in my life. In that moment, however, I finally determined something. I put my foot down. And in doing so declared firmly:
“Never again.”
But I still wasn’t sure what I could do for this man. And he still asked for money.
So I asked for his name.
“Nikolas.”, he said.
How fitting, I felt.
Still unsure of what course of action to take, I did what never fails and asked to pray for him again to which he agreed. It never is wrong, too late, or too little to go to the Father! Liz saw this and joined in. After we finished she suggested inviting him to walk with us. Seemed right, felt right. Confirmation from the Spirit to me.
In a city food is been never too far. Within 30 feet we came upon a kiosk which I saw him surveying with keen interest. I had only a few euro left (Greece is expensive), but Liz chipped in and it was enough to see him off with three drinks and a sleeve of cookies! It lured a faint smile from his chapped, rugged lips.
And that was just the beginning of more beautiful things to come!
He stopped us at the corner and began to speak as best he could with what English he knew. And as he gestured to us I finally noticed his shirt peeking out from under his jacket. And as it was, holey and tattered, it would be little use to him in the coming winter. It was barely enough on the cool fall night that it was.
And as I thought of my options, the answer that was right was immediate and certain.
In the middle of the busiest section of Thessalonica, I immediately began to reach under my hoodie to liberate my shirt. As God would have it, it was my World Race shirt that, in large print, said, “Run to win.” I love giving gifts and have some fond gift-giving memories. Well, this one topped them all as I gave him my shirt.
As I began to say a parting word to Nikolas he started to say something and then pointed to his back. I wasn’t confident I knew what he meant, but in that moment Liz stepped up and asked/gestured, “Would you like us to pray for your back?”
“Yes.”, he said softly.
Anymore when I pray, especially for healing, I only say what comes purely from the heart and/or what Spirit shows me I should say. So I prayed fervently for healing for his back as did Liz. When we finished and said our amens he looked up and smiled. Then he proceeded to bend down and start pointing to his legs. This time we understood his desire for prayer and prayed for his legs as well.
We finished and gave a parting that surpasses any language barrier: a smile.
(Hang in there, you’re doing great. The best and final part comes next!)
Later as I yet again stood outside a shop waiting I was understandably surprised when I saw Nikolas approaching yet again. And I was honestly very surprised because since leaving him earlier we had walked a good distance and were tucked away in a corner shop among a sea of people. How he ever caught up with us given how slowly he walked is still a mystery to me. Or maybe not. You’ll see why!
As he closed in on where I was standing he was doing something quite odd, though. He had his hand outstretched and was holding something. When we finally stood in each other’s presence he opened his hand and totally shocked me.
He had three 20 cent pieces.
I asked, “Nikolas, what is this about?”
And in his rough and tumble English he said, “I… give… you.”
…
“Oh Nikolas.. no, I can’t. You need that money.”
“No, I give… you.”, He said again. “Back.”, he added though this time.
I was monetarily confused, but it quickly became certain to me and I asked hesitantly, “Nikolas, is your back… feeling good?”
“Yes.”, he said, with a warm, genuine smile on his face. “You… make good.”
He went on. “I… pray… church”, as he gestured back in the direction of the church we met him in, “back… no good. YOU pray… back… good.”
Talk about a mic drop.
“I give you.”, as he handed me the coins again.
“No Nikolas, you need them. But thank you.”
He stood there, seeming to contemplate. After a few moments he said, “Tomorrow… I come… here. I give…”, and then looked around to all the people.
“You give… tomorrow… to the people?”, I queried. He didn’t know the word “people” but after a bit we sorted it out, and to which he replied, “Yes.”
“Because… I… give to you?”
Again he didn’t fully understand at first, but yet again we sorted it out and after we did his reply was the most simple, but it was simply beautiful to me!
“Yes.”
***
I won’t talk your ear off much more, but I will leave you with these two things:
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Just step out in faith and let the Spirit lead and supply you. I promise you absolutely won’t be disappointed.
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I went to Thessalonica in part to see if the church Paul started lived on. You draw your own conclusions. Me? Well, I did find good saint Nikolas there, and he has a message to share now, a testimony. Personally, I think I found the church in Thessalonica.
