JOB!

I preached at a funeral service in Houston yesterday. Those are always hard. Particularly so, when it is the home-going celebration of a delightful gentleman, the father of a close friend. And Bobby’s Dad was about my father’s age. We’d had a 2+ decade-long association when we were all part of a church plant in ye olde city of Houston, in the days of my medical training there.

I remember this sprightly septuagenarian (in those days) crazy about Indian food and, particularly, Indian sweets.

Oh, and he was also crazy about Christ! So crazy he’d share Christ with anyone. Anyone!

I thought I knew him reasonably well. But I learnt something about Dr. Mathew today. When Bobby spoke at the service, in tribute to his father, he mentioned a rather curious incident that happened many years ago.

His father was an anesthesiologist and had, at one time, worked with the surgical team of the venerable Dr. Denton Cooley in Texas Heart Institute (THI). Cooley, one might remember, was the founder and surgeon-in-chief at THI, famous for performing the first implantation of a totally artificial heart.

Apparently, one of Dr. Mathew’s “crazy” habits was, after a busy day in Cooley’s OR, to go out into the streets of Texas Medical Center (TMC) in Houston handing out gospel tracts to passersby. You might want to know that TMC is the largest medical center in the world with 50+ medicine-related institutions, including two (yes, TWO) medical schools, four nursing schools, a zillion other schools (of dentistry, public health, pharmacy, …), 20-something hospitals, and on and on and on. This is an academically dense place.

And our man was handing out tracts after work, on TMC’s campus. Probably looking disheveled in his overworked scrubs, and undisciplined hair. One recipient of Dr. Mathew’s tract took offence at the sight of this scruffy Indian guy doling out shady “cultic” literature in a high-tech, high-brow, high-salary environment, that had a budget larger than the city of Houston’s, and that boasted more employees than ye olde city. Yup, he was ticked off. Ticked off good and proper. How dare this strange-looking person purvey disreputable products in a respectable location?

And so he vented on the dodgy distributor: “Get a job, man!” he said—to this anesthesiologist in camouflage. “Get a job!”

He was doing his job. He was discharging his God-appointed commission.

“Go therefore and make disciples

of all the nations, baptizing them

in the name of the Father

and the Son and the Holy Spirit,

teaching them to observe

all that I commanded you;

and lo, I am with you always,

even to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:19–20

Dr. Mathew retired from active practice more than a decade ago. But you know what? He continued his “job.” Earnestly. Diligently. Conscientiously. This man was an evangelist par excellence. Crazy for Christ. He never stopped telling folks about Jesus.

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ;

… we beg you on behalf of Christ,

be reconciled to God.

2 Corinthians 5:20

That was his life!

And Jesus said …,

“Follow Me, and I will make you

fishers of men.”

Mark 1:17

That was his job: he followed; he fished!

And so I wasn’t surprised at all when the family requested only one thing of me, when I preached yesterday. “Make sure the Gospel is presented,” they exhorted.

And so I did. I performed my “job” as requested. I was simply following the good man’s footsteps.

But you, be sober in all things,

endure hardship,

do the work of an evangelist,

fulfill your ministry.

2 Timothy 4:5

I love this “job”!