You don’t expect this story to come from New York City or the New York City Police Department or, frankly, from anywhere.

But it is a story worthy of Christmas.

November 14 was a cold night in New York City. Officer Lawrence DePrimo, age 25, had been given a counterterrorism assignment. He came upon an older, barefooted, homeless man.

Officer DePrimo knealt down and began talking with the man. The man had blisters on his feet and when he walked he walked on his heals.

Then, the officer left for a few minutes and returned with a size 12 pair of all-weather boots, squatted down and put them on the man’s feet.

All of this would never be known–most acts of kindness usually are unknown and unnoticed, and that’s the way it should be–except for a tourist from Arizona with a cell phone. She snapped a photo of the officer squatting with the new boots and later sent it to the NYPD. For a long time, the NYPD did not know who the officer was.

In a New York Times interview, Officer DePrimo, who lives with his parents on Long Island, spoke of the chance meeting. Ït was freezing out and you could see the blisters on the man’s feet. I had two pairs of socks and I was still cold.” They started talking and he learned his shoe size was a twelve. He went into a Skechers shoe store about 9:30 PM and purchased the $100 pair of boots (the store manager gave him his own employee discount bringing the total to $75). The officer has kept the receipt in his wallet “to remind me that sometimes people have it worse.”

I don’t know anything about the officer’s faith, but I do know something about his works. As the officer knealt before the man, I recalled how Jesus told us to wash one another’s feet.

I’m glad we celebrate Christmas. It reminds us of God’s unfailing love and of His great care.

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