Walking Sermon

Fmom Tod's blog:

In my book, Showtime, I tell the story I once heard about Albert Schweitzer. Some of you will remember Schweitzer. Born in 1875, he graduated college at age 21, became and minister and earned a Ph D. from the university of Strasbourg. He became both an accomplished theologian and an equally respected classically trained
organist and the leading authority of his day on Johann Sebastian Bach. At
age 30 he went back to medical school, became a doctor and in 1913, he and his
wife, who was also a nurse, left Europe for Africa where they established a
missionary hospital for patients with leprosy. They served in Africa for
50 years. In 1952 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

According to one story about him, when Schweitzer visited America in 1953,
he was greeted in Chicago by a crowd of city officials and reporters. As
this bushy haired mustachioed 6 foot four inch tall man came off the train, the
reporters and officials crowded around him with cameras flashing and heaping
praise upon him.

Schweitzer politely thanked them but then looking over their heads he spied something that caused him to ask the officials if they would excuse him for a moment. He quickly walked through the crowd until he reached the side of an elderly African-American woman who was struggling with two large suitcases. He picked up the bags, escorted the woman to a bus, smiled and wished her a safe journey. As he returned to the officials, he apologized for keeping them waiting.

One member of the reception committee said to another, “That’s the first time I ever saw a sermon walking.”