“When the Son of Man comes, and
all the angels with him, he will sit on the throne of his glory. Before him all
the nations will be gathered, and he will separate them one from another, as a
shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will set the sheep on his right
hand, and the goats on the left. Then the King will tell those on his right
hand, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from
the foundation of the world; for I was hungry, and you gave me food to eat. I
was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was a foreigner, and you took me in. I
was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison,
and you came to me.’
“Then the righteous will answer
him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed you; or thirsty, and
give you a drink? When did we see you as a foreigner, and take you in; or
naked, and clothe you? When did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to
you?’
“The King will answer them, ‘Whenever
you did it to one of the least of these,
you did it to me.’ Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart
from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and
his angels; for I was hungry, and you didn’t give me food to eat; I was
thirsty, and you gave me no drink; I was a foreigner, and you didn’t take me
in; naked, and you didn’t clothe me; sick, and in prison, and you didn’t visit
me.’
“Then they will also answer,
saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a foreigner, or
naked, or sick, or in prison, and didn’t help you?’
“Then he will answer them, ‘Whenever
you didn’t do it to one of the least of these, you didn’t do it to me.’ They will
go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Reflection
Jesus says we will be judged,
not on what we believe, but on how we live out our faith by having compassion
on the poor. Jesus identifies fully with “the least of these,”
saying what happens to them happens to him. Where do you see yourself in this
judgment scene? Do your priorities and those of your church line up with what
Jesus says here?
Prayer: When I become like
the world around me, Lord, and turn my back on the poor, remind me that to do so
is to turn my back on you.
We have to remember that when we do not fulfill these obligations, as Jesus has taught us, we are being disobedient. Not just lazy or indifferent, but disobedient. That hit me hard, and I am so glad God has guided me to the work with an agency that strives to meet the needs of the community.
ReplyDeleteI've read that some cities have laws against handing out food to homeless people. More and more we may have to choose between civil disobedience and disobedience to God. May God have our/my highest allegiance.
ReplyDelete