WATCHWORD:
31 “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left. 34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’
41 “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons.[ 42 For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. 43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’
44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’ 45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’ Matthew 25:40-45
Meditation:
Least of these?
Are you confused by the phrase, the least of these ? For years, when I have read that scripture passage I assumed that it meant everyone, all of society’s poor and downtrodden, those who are homeless, those who are hungry, those who are victims of programs and policies that hurt people.
I did not realize that the scripture passage was the focus of much controversy in recent years. I was reading a blog from the Center for Christian Thought and they went into some detail about the different interpretations of that phrase. It seems there are two main positions: Strict literalists, pointing to the complete phrase, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ emphasis on ‘brothers and sisters’. I have taken the ‘universal’ position, in that we are called to respond to all since God loves all. After reading a few pages of the blog, I decided this is not the rabbit hole I wanted to get into in this devotional. Sufficient to say, we want this settled, within our own thinking. There are others who may hold to a different view, and I say, good for them.
Earlier this year I was in California and my son took me on a tour of the devastation of the wildfires that ravaged through the Pasadena area. During the course of the tour we drove by a colony of homeless sheltered under the interstate. In the same area I saw a sign advertising a soup kitchen, free food. People doing what they can, knowing they can’t solve the whole of it, but they can make a difference for a few.
You may have heard the story of a person walking on the beach picking up starfish and throwing them back into the water and when told you can’t save all those starfish, so, why try? The answer, of course, was I can’t save them all, but I can make a difference for this one, as he threw another starfish went into the surf.
I wonder if we turn off our generosity, our compassion, when we are confronted by a problem that is so massive that we don’t know how to solve it, nor where to start. Maybe our mentality should focus on making a difference for a few. One starfish at a time, one foster kid at a time, one injustice at a time.
My little effort in these devotionals will not make a difference. Oh? Jesus spoke about planting seeds, and when we reach out, when we do something, for the least of these: for a soup kitchen, for a homeless person, for a kid who needs a father or a mother, right a wrong, we may be providing a model, encouragement for another one to do the same, the seed is planted and we pass it on.
Go in peace, serve…serve who? Why serve the Lord, and all those that He loves. Amen.
Closing Prayer:
Heavenly Father, clear my mind and help me to respond to the the least of these, whose needs have come to my attention. Give me the strength, courage, and the wisdom to respond as you would have me do. In Jesus’ name. Amen
