Love Walks the Earth

It’s Christmas Eve. Some folks are up early, scurrying around the house getting ready for church or family or social events. Others are lying in bed wishing to avoid any more crusaders demanding they “keep Christ in Christmas” and counting the minutes until this infernal season ends so they can forget the whole ugly year. Still, others are sitting quietly and admiring the gifts and lights under and on the Christmas tree.

But some gifts don’t fit under a tree. Some gifts walk the Earth.

As the story goes, Steve Mitchell was born with Down syndrome, but his family didn’t let that stop him. They told Steve and showed Steve he could have and do anything he set his mind to. They integrated Steve into school and church, which was uncommon for the 1970’s and 80’s. They even managed to answer Steve’s only Christmas wish – a ticket to a Duke Basketball game. Steve subsequently attended every Duke home basketball game for the next 37 years. But that’s not the end of the story – it’s just the beginning.

Steve Mitchell had an angel. Not a real flying invisible with wings type angel, but a human being who embodied Christ’s love for another. Steve’s angel arranged for him to pick up his reserved ticket for each game and sit right behind the Duke Blue Devils’ bench. Steve’s angel arranged for Fran, Steve’s favorite usher, to meet and escort him to his seat each game. Steve’s angel also greeted him with a firm handshake before each game.

The ticket to a Duke Basketball game wasn’t the most important gift imparted by Steve’s angel. The personal attention and respect shown Steve every step of the way boosted his self-confidence in a world that often neglects or rejects people like Steve – those with physical attributes different from the norm. It was the personal answer to a hand-written letter from Steve each year, met with dignity and a small token paper ticket to a seat near the floor that made the impact on Steve’s life. It was the embodiment of Christ to one of His children that changed the world. As you may have figured out, Steve’s angel was Coach Mike “Coach K” Krzyzewski.

In Mark, Jesus clarified that all the laws and commandments boiled down to two most important ones: “The most important one…’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Mark 12:29-31, NIV)

So whether you celebrate Christ as the reason for Christmas, or even recognize the deity of Christ at all, you can’t go wrong following the example of a man who had so much more to be concerned with than one unknown and unremarkable man’s Christmas wish. You certainly can’t go wrong following Coach K’s example of gifting tickets to a stranger with Down syndrome. And if all this falls on deaf ears let your eyes look once more on the love and respect that developed between two strangers – one man had everything, the other just coached a basketball team.

So today’s challenge is simply to love your neighbor because of his peculiarity, not in spite of it.