Do You Care?

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’” (Matthew 25:31-40 ESV). I recently read a story about a man who was on the ledge of a 32-story building in Manhattan, weeping. The first police officers that responded tried to talk the man away from his dangerous perch. They talked, cajoled, and pleaded. It was all pointless, though, because the man was deaf and mute. Eventually a neighbor told the police what they were facing. They immediately sent for a property room clerk from a police station in the Bronx. Officer Elizabeth Cook has a brother who was born deaf, so she is fluent in sign language. With more than a dozen other officers standing by and with a crowd of gawkers hundreds of feet below, she began trying to make contact with the 31-year-old man. She waved her arms and tried everything she could think of to attract his attention. When he looked up several minutes later, Officer Cook signed: "Tell me what happened. I'm here to help you. Tell me what happened. I'm here to help you." Over and over, she repeated her offer to "listen" to a man that can't talk. He finally responded by signing to her. "My girlfriend died in a car accident last week," he told her through deliberate and slow hand movements. "I'm very sorry," she signed back. Reaching out to a man trapped in the terrible solitude of his grief, Ms. Cook reminded him that there were people who loved him and needed him. She promised that there were people willing to help him cope with his pain. Finally he conceded that he wanted to live. He demanded that all the other police officers move away. Then he worked his way off the ledge and through a window. He and Officer Cook collapsed into each other's arms. Both sobbed. Because of her own brother, a woman understood how intense the loneliness of a silent world could be. As she put it afterward, it can make a person feel that "no one's listening." So she could reach to the man, genuinely care about him, and save his life. The New York Times story of this rescue ran under this headline when I saw it: "Signs of Humanity Help NY Police Save a Life." Listening to and caring about another's plight is a sign of humanity, all right. Helping that person through a tough time is also a sign of God's presence. The next time you see someone who is hurting and feeling isolated, you may be able to make the connection that makes the difference. The secret is caring and seizing the chance to do something for Jesus.