The Bible on Our Obligation to the Poor, Final Week
Due to family circumstances, I didn't get a chance to list my Holy Week Facebook daily postings on what the Bible has to say about our duty to serve the poor. I ended with what I consider the verse that most spells out what Jesus wanted us to do. Not WWJD but WWJWUTD (what would Jesus want us to do).
I don't think scripture gets any clearer than this one. And I find the first half so uplifting. When you helped the hungry, the sick, the naked, or the imprisoned, you helped me. This is the Christianity I can embrace. This is the Christianity that this agnostic can point to and say, "This is how I want to live my life. This is right. This is true."
Not the Christianity that oppresses women and gays, not the Christianity that denies science, not the Christianity that teaches people to judge and condemn. But the Christianity that says "You are commanded to relieve suffering." A great man named Jesus once walked this earth and relieved suffering wherever he went. I would like to follow the example of that man. And I would hope that anyone who calls himself or herself a Christian would want to do the same.
This is the view down the street where we stayed in Addis Ababa. There is currently a list circulating on Facebook of all the places one should go before one dies. Interestingly, almost none are in Africa, so I would posit that whoever made up that list hasn't traveled to Africa. I'm not sure how the Nile River and the Great Rift Valley do not make that list. One more thing I would add to that list is that everyone should travel to an impoverished nation and live there among the people for at least a week. Not stay in the Hilton or the Sheraton, but stay in a small guesthouse in a neighborhood. And don't just travel to tourist highlights -- travel to a village where you are the only foreigners they will see all year. Experience small children wearing sackcloth dresses coming up to you holding their hands out, palms up, curling their fingers inward in a clear no-need-for translation begging gesture. I certainly want to see Paris and travel to the Ireland, but visiting Ethiopia changed my life more than viewing the Taj Mahal or the Grand Canyon ever will.
Mt. 25:31-46. "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on His left.
Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.'
Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite you in, or naked, and clothe You? And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'
And the King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'
Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.'
Then they themselves will also answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?'
Then He will answer them, saying, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that 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."
Today is Easter Sunday in Ethiopia, if I have my calendar straight. So, Melkam Fasika (Happy Easter) to those who celebrate Easter. If my Lenten postings have inspired even one person to increase their service to the poor, it will have been worth it. It has certainly renewed my resolve, and maybe that's good enough.
Peace be with you.
I don't think scripture gets any clearer than this one. And I find the first half so uplifting. When you helped the hungry, the sick, the naked, or the imprisoned, you helped me. This is the Christianity I can embrace. This is the Christianity that this agnostic can point to and say, "This is how I want to live my life. This is right. This is true."
Not the Christianity that oppresses women and gays, not the Christianity that denies science, not the Christianity that teaches people to judge and condemn. But the Christianity that says "You are commanded to relieve suffering." A great man named Jesus once walked this earth and relieved suffering wherever he went. I would like to follow the example of that man. And I would hope that anyone who calls himself or herself a Christian would want to do the same.
Mt. 25:31-46. "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on His left.
Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.'
Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite you in, or naked, and clothe You? And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'
And the King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'
Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.'
Then they themselves will also answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?'
Then He will answer them, saying, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that 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."
Today is Easter Sunday in Ethiopia, if I have my calendar straight. So, Melkam Fasika (Happy Easter) to those who celebrate Easter. If my Lenten postings have inspired even one person to increase their service to the poor, it will have been worth it. It has certainly renewed my resolve, and maybe that's good enough.
Peace be with you.
Thank you for this series Karen.
ReplyDelete