June 29, 2008
Background Scripture: Hebrews 13:1-16
Devotional Reading: Psalms 118:5-9
One of my favorite movies is a 1961 British film that won no Academy Awards and is probably unknown to most moviegoers. It was entitled, “Whistle Down the Wind,” written by the wife of Sir John Mills and starring their daughter, Hayley Mills, and Alan Bates.
It is the simple story of childhood innocence of the kind of which Jesus spoke in Matthew 18:3: “… Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” A young girl and her younger brother are walking through their village and someone hands them a religious tract on which is a representation of the face of Jesus. As they return to their farm, they look into the barn and find a man asleep on the hay.

The bearded man looks much like the picture of Jesus in the tract. But, unknown to them, he is a dangerous escaped criminal. As they gaze at him, he awakens and when they ask him who he is, he curses their discovery of him: “Jesus Christ!”

A visitation

They quickly send out the news of their discovery to their friends, so that their barn becomes a place of worshipful visitation. At last, however, adults become suspicious and the police are called.
As the police arrive, scores of children line the roadway. The convict’s first instinct is to shoot it out with the police, but the compassion and devotion of the children have wrought a change in him, so that instead of resisting arrest and causing harm to his young “disciples,” he meekly submits.

As they bring him out of the barn in handcuffs, they are greeted by a great host of children lining the road for 50 yards or so. One of the children is crying, but Hayley’s character says to her, “Don’t cry; he’ll come back. He always does, you know.”

Unwittingly, these guileless children found Jesus Christ hidden in the guise of a rough and profane criminal.

John Polkinghorne, a former professor of mathematical physics at Cambridge University, as well as a priest and Canon Theologian of the Church of England, has written: “In Advent, we think about the coming of Christ … But the truth of the matter is that Christ comes to us every day, anonymously, in the people in need who cross our path.”

The writer of Hebrews says much the same thing, except that he speaks of anonymous angels: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” (13:2).

Who are these people in whom God’s angels appear? Hebrews names strangers, “those who are in prison,” the “ill-treated” and even your marriage partner.

The least of these

We cannot help remembering the words of Jesus in Parable of the Great Judgment in Matthew: “… For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me … As you did it not to the least of these, you did it not to me” (25:42-45).

All of these are people in whom Christ and his angels may anonymously appear.

It appears that there may have been a dispute within the Christian community to which the letter was sent. Perhaps there was conflict between the local leaders and others who were teaching otherwise, probably a dispute about food offered to idols. Hebrews is calling them to stay with their orthodox leaders who have presented the gospel as it was presented to them, perhaps by some of the original disciples.

Although the setting and context may have changed since then, the heart of Christ’s gospel is what it was from the beginning. And “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever” (13:8).

Christ and his angels still appear anonymously in those in need of help. “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God” (13:16).

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Rev. Althouse may write to him in care of this publication.