Today we finish up the tough readings from Matthew 25 with the Gospel of the sheep and goats. I love this reading as frightening as it is. I think it marked me for life early on. I try to live it by welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, and visiting the prisoner. I am not always successful but I try to live out this challenge.
A friend of mine teases me about the blankets I make for the poor which is her way of saying I do live Matthew 25 fairly well, and not that I actually make blankets. I used to hand out blankets in Washington, DC when I volunteered with House of Ruth, which ministers to homeless people in downtown DC. The number of homeless people in DC is overwhelming. The man in the photo was having a hot dog from a vender along the Mall one day. I would often chat with some of the people who “lived” among the many tourist attractions in Washington. They remain a part of who I became that year.
We all have the potential to easily live out the orders Christ the King sets before us today and not know that we did gift the least of these. Do we remember the least of these in our prayers? Do we take it a step further by doing some action to rectify the situation? Do we give to the food bank? Do we send our old clothes to shelters? Do we drop off hats and mitts to organizations that collect them at this time of year? Do we donate for hampers in our workplace? Do we give a homeless person a warm smile and a kind word even if we do not give them cash?
Jesus, our King and Lord, wants to say to each of us, come! Which way are you heading? Left or right?
Peace,
Suzanne
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