“Truly, I say to you, as you did it to the least of my brothers, so you did it to me.”
In Matthew 25, Jesus speaks about the call of every disciple to treat the poor as if it were Him. He is adamant that it is essential to the life of every Christian to love the poor and take care of those who are sick, imprisoned, hungry, thirsty, naked or who are a stranger. In fact, Christ doesn’t just say that we must do so, but He says that those who see the poor and turn away - those who do not offer loving aid - “will go away into eternal punishment,” while those who take care of the less fortunate will be granted “eternal life.”
This invitation is one that the Lord has emphasized with urgency. This is an invitation to pay attention.
It may seem, depending on where you live, that you don’t often encounter the poor. After all, you likely live in a first-world country where a vast majority of people are not starving or lacking water, where being naked in public is quite rare or illegal and where prisoners are sequestered away from the rest of us in a place where only verified prison ministries or select family members can visit.
Are we off the hook, those of us in suburbs and smalltowns and highrises?
Scripture is just as relevant to the wealthy West, as it is to those in Calcutta.
Our daily lives, as suburban professionals or small town mothers or big city students are full of opportunities to love the poor with the tenderness of Christ.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that to be a member of the Church is to be “missionary by our very nature.” To be who we are as Christians means to share the Gospel with others. This is the context where we most often encounter hunger and thirst - in its spiritual form.
Who do you know in your community that is hungry for the Truth?
Have you considered asking your parish priest about opportunities for sharing Jesus with those who are thirsty for God?
I recently asked the Lord for more opportunities to share the Gospel and He was swift to respond. I wasn’t sure where to start, so I asked the Lord to open a door for me and within a week someone tapped me on the shoulder (literally) at church and asked if I would be available to sponsor a young woman who wanted to receive her First Communion and Confirmation at Easter. I accepted and it was a beautiful opportunity to accompany someone who was new to the Catholic faith and share my love with Jesus with another person.
Have you taken time in prayer to ask the Lord to inspire you with ideas for who He wants you to share your faith with? You can be assured that He will not deny this request!
Clothe the “naked”
Loose synonyms for naked are also “exposed” and “vulnerable.”
Many of us are in a position where our material needs are covered, but emotionally and spiritually we are naked.
Perhaps we have not known the consistent and generous love of good parents.
Perhaps we have recently gone through a bad breakup or divorce and our hearts are exposed.
On the other hand, even in a materially wealthy country, financial struggles happen all the time.
Maybe we are going through financial difficulty and we’re embarrassed that we might not be able to give our family what they need or deserve and this has left us feeling exposed.
Maybe we feel like the only way we can provide for our families is to go into debt.
If you’re not in this situation, you probably know someone who is.
In these experiences of nakedness, the Lord stands with us in His Passion. And not only does He stand with us in that vulnerability, but He also reaches out to us with clothing - the clothing of love, of compassion, and of endless tenderness.
Over the past year, I had a friend who was going through a lot of emotional pain. I realized one of the gifts I could give her was time. She could talk and process with me for as long as she needed and I would give her the gift of a patient, listening ear. Sometimes in a state of emotional vulnerability, we can spiritually “clothe” such a person with a listening ear that never gets bored or impatient.
How can you offer friendship and tenderness to a friend who is emotionally suffering?
If God has given us excess money, how have we made a plan to be generous to those in need?
Welcome the stranger
Many of us live in countries where there is a significant ebb and flow of immigration and refugees. This is often seen as a political matter and how people interact with incoming immigrants or refugees can be tinted by political overtones. However, regardless of our political stance on immigration, every immigrant or refugee, regardless of where they came from or how they got into the country, is a child of God.
Some of us are called to political activism or reform. We are all called to treat every person we encounter, especially those who are strangers, with love.
If we encounter a newcomer at our church or in our grocery store or at the airport, do we ask about their story? Offer a warm smile? There can be tremendous anxiety and feelings of displacement within those who find themselves in a new country and being received within kindness can give someone the strength and hope they need to press through the challenges of integrating into a new place.
When we are discussing immigration and refugees around the dinnertable, do we avoid speaking of individuals in a prejudiced or uncharitable manner?
No matter where we stand politically, Christ is inviting all of us to treat one another with dignity and love.
Visit the sick and the imprisoned
Prison ministry is an opportunity for some of us.
For all of us, we know people who are imprisoned in their loneliness or sickness or addiction.
Are we patient with those who are struggling with addictions in our lives? Do we pray for those that are captured by addiction?
Have we checked with local senior care centers to see if they have regular visitors to keep their residents company?
Do we visit our elderly grandparents or parents, to ensure that they never feel forgotten or burdensome?
No matter where we live, our lives are rich with opportunities to answer Jesus’ call to take care of the poor. When Christ asks us if we saw and cared for the “hungry or thirsty or [stranger] or naked or sick or in prison,” we can readily respond, “yes, Lord!”
