The Least of These...

This morning the verses for meditation come from Matthew 25:31-33, 41-46 NIV:

[31] “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. [32] All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. [33] He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

[41] “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. [42] For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, [43] I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

[44] “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

[45] “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ [46] “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. ”

The focus of the Ignatian exercises I have been going through for the last few weeks has been on my own selfishness and sinfulness, never fun topics, and I think something we spend less time thinking about than we should. I know in my life, maybe because I am an optimist, liking to focus on the positive things, I spend very little time thinking about my own actions and how they might affect myself or others negatively. I spend even less time thinking about how my absence or lack of action might affect others or myself. The last 5 verses aren't even underlined in my Bible!

These verses are meant to make me think, make me examine my life and see how my perspective is not the same as the Lord's, so that I can change to take on His perspective, and more importantly His actions. Yesterday I was looking at Jesus' comments about being sent to the sinners and being a light to those in darkness. In these verses, He takes the conversation up a notch and identifies the eternal significance of our actions, or lack of action. In Catholic services we ask forgiveness for the things we have done and the things we have failed to do, and that is exactly what Jesus is pointing to here.

There are plenty of good ministries out there that allow us to get involved with the "least of these" making a difference in many lives and enabling us to follow Jesus example. These are great opportunities and things we should support with our time, actions and money. I think that Jesus wouldn't stop there though, but would press on with us to see our hearts truly changed, that ministry to the least of these would flow naturally out of who we are and what we believe.

This is also not a command to do everything for everyone, for not even Jesus did that. When He healed the man at the pool of Bethesda, He walked right by a room of sick people. He did what the Father showed Him to do, and so should we. The charge is more to do that which the Father shows us to do, to actually ask for direction and then act upon the direction. Finally it is about our heart. Care of others comes from our own sense of gratitude and understanding how much we have been given. As Jesus says, "freely we have received, so freely give" (Matt 10:8). Our heart and our actions should be in unison, and our actions most effectively show what we really believe - James 2 paraphrase.

Lord help me to look at my life and recognize the opportunities for change, and then act on those opportunities. Help me to see the "least of these" and recognize their significance and treat them as I would treat You.