Daily Devotion by Peter McCutcheon

‘For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me….Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

Matthew 25:35-36, 40. 

This is probably one of the more well-known Bible verses, an inspiring parable of the value of service and community. But, to me, this parable is about the ability to seek out Christ in the crowd. 

For the past half decade, I’ve held a unique title at CCM as a “local boy”--whereas most other bassists come from around the world, I'm the only Cincinnati native. I’ve found this title to be a call-to-action, to be a good steward of the city but also be available to serve, present and helpful when needed. One of the most special moments that I feel called to serve in this way is Thanksgiving. 

For the 4 years of my undergraduate, there were two other bassists my age: Taiga, a native Hawaiian, and Caleb, a black kid from Birmingham, and we would share Thanksgiving at my parent’s house. Sometimes it was only Caleb or only Taiga or other times all of us, but I felt like they were my brothers by breaking bread.

This year, Caleb began his masters in Chicago, but Taiga and I continued at CCM. This year though, Taiga had the chance to go home to Hawaii for Thanksgiving, but I was still itching to open up my parent’s house and service my colleagues. I sent an open invitation to my studio, roughly 25 bassists, and I received a single response--a sophomore, Jack. 

I didn’t know Jack too well personally, but I was so fortunate to hear his story, and thankful for his permission to share it with you. 

Around 2000, Jack’s parents, two lawyers from Las Vegas, were looking to adopt a newborn from Asia. They were matched with a newborn in Kazakhstan. According to Jack, his birth mother drank during pregnancy, and during labor she signed the hospital papers under a fake name in order to remain anonymous. He came home for the first time 2 years later.

If it wasn’t for an open invitation, and for him to accept it, I would not have been able to bear witness to God’s plan for Jack. I could never imagine that this amazing origin story could come from one of my peers. I could never have guessed that an elite musician in university is living with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Part of me thinks to myself: “How could I know?” but part of me also thinks: “Why didn’t I know?” 

When I welcomed Jack, and heard his story, I felt Jesus being fed and clothed in front of me, as well as the Holy Spirit magnetizing my thoughts to Jesus’s turbulent infancy. Not saying Jack is “the least of these” like the passage from Matthew 25 notes, but it’s simpler than that--we all are (Romans 3, anyone?) We all need to be served, fed, and clothed, and in doing so we ought to see Christ in each of us. Christ isn’t just the Teacher or the Servant, he’s the Served too. We may imitate Christ by serving, but instead of seeing Him reflected in ourselves as servants, we actually see Him in the face of those we serve. Amen.