Lord, When?

Jesus said, "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, `Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.' Then the righteous will answer him, `Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' And the king will answer them, `Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.' Then he will say to those at his left hand, `You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, `Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?' Then he will answer them, `Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." Matthew 25:31-46

We sat yesterday in the large room that houses physical therapy and watched my Mom work at regaining her strength. Her arm and leg muscles are returning but her hands are still working at grasping, opening and closing. As I watched, I couldn't help but think of all the meals she cooked with those hands. She fed her family yes, but she also spent more than 20 years cooking a weekly meal for poor children. She reveled in this ministry and hugged and cherished each of those children with these now weakened limbs.She was love and strength to those little ones. And even now, in her weakened condition, I saw the light in her eyes, the light that reveals the fight to regain strength again in order to hug her family,  her grandchildren, and any person that might need her love.

Jesus reminded the disciples about what really counts in this world. He told them that the present and permanent blessings come from seeing the need around us and responding to it. When we serve those around us we serve God. Our actions do not save us, but they can bless us abundantly. We are invited today to open our eyes to the need around us, and to respond to the least as if we can see the face of God in each and every one.

Today I ask God to help me to see. Help us all to see the poverty, imprisonment and pain that is right here in our midst. May we not wait for an invitation but rush to serve the people right her among us knowing God is with them and is inviting us to join them today.