It was one of the most extraordinary birthday parties ever held. Not it wasn't in a plush ballroom of a grand hotel. No there weren't famous celebrities, nor anyone rich or powerful. It was held at 3am in a small seedy cafe in Honolulu, the guest of honour was a prostitute, the fellow guests were prostitutes, and the man who threw it was a Christian minister!
The idea came to Christian minister Tony Campolo very early one morning as he sat in the cafe and overheard a fellow diner lament the fact that not only was it her birthday tomorrow but that she'd never had a birthday party. She was a prostitute called Agnes and her friends showed her little sympathy.
Tony however thought it would be a great idea to surprise Agnes with a birthday party. Learning from the cafe owner that the girls came in every morning around 3.30am Tony agreed with him to set the place up for a party. Word somehow got out on the street, so that by 3.15 the next morning the place was packed with prostitutes, the cafe owner and his wife, and Tony.
When Agnes walked in she saw streamers, balloons, the cafe owner holding a birthday cake, and everyone screaming out "Happy Birthday!". Agnes was overwhelmed. The tears poured down her face as the crowd sang Happy Birthday.
It was a birthday party rarely seen in Honolulu - thrown by a Christian minister for a 39 year old prostitute who had never had anyone go out of their way to do something like this and who expected nothing in return. Indeed, so surprising was this turn of events that the cafe owner found it hard to believe there were churches that would do this sort of thing, but if there were then that's the sort of church he'd be prepared to join.
Application: Grace. In that seedy little bar Tony Campolo was a visible manifestation of grace, bringing love, generosity of spirit and warmth to Agnes though she had done nothing to earn it from them.
Application: Christ - Love, Example, Grace. Tony Campolo was a Christ figure in that seedy little cafe. The Gospels tell us that when Christ was on earth it was the Agnes' of this world that he surrounded himself with. It was his habit to eat with tax collectors and "sinners", extending to them the welcome of God.
Application: Acceptance, Judgmentalism, Human Worth, Welcome. In this story we see the triumph of grace over judgmentalism. Tony could see beyond Agnes' lack of respectability to the wounded, needy person she was.
Application: evangelism, witness
Source: Reported in Tony Campolo The Kingdom of God is a Party.