Matthew 25:31-46
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 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. 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 by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
“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. 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, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
“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?’
“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.’
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
In 1985, just before I came to FBCG, my wife and I spent six months living in Bolivia as short term missionaries. We taught a class in conversational English at a small evangelical university in Santa Cruz while I played basketball and helped coach with a Bolivian team. At one point during our time in Bolivia we traveled to La Paz, one
of the highest cities in the world, to visit some missionary friends living in that city. During our stay in La Paz we had dinner with our friends one night at a local restaurant. After dinner we were walking back to their apartment when I had an experience that I have remembered all these years. We had just crossed a street when I hears a sound. It was already dark, around 10 p.m. or so, so I couldn’t see right away where the sound was coming from; but it sounded like a child crying. I looked around for a moment... then I saw him. He was a little boy, maybe 7 or 8 years old, crouched down along a wall beside the street. He was alone, from what I could tell, and he was just kind of whimpering softly in the night. It was a pitiful, heart-wrenching sound.
By this time we had lived in Bolivia for a number of months and had grown somewhat accustomed to the poverty of that land. At the time Bolivia was the second poorest country in the western hemisphere, just behind Haiti. So it was not unusual to see and smell the realities of the under-developed world all around us. But this was different.
I remember the questions that flashed through my mind as I walked past that little boy. Why was he crying? Was he hungry? Was he cold? Was he sick? Why was he out on the street at that time of night? Where were his parents? What should I do? What could I do?
“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. 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, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
“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?’
“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.’
In this part of the parable I think Jesus is teaching us to first see those around us and then to respond with compassionate action. He’s teaching us to care.
Now we all know that caring means more than just handing out a few meals or giving away boxes of old clothes. Caring means to care about people; to care about their stories; to care enough to go beyond offering quick fixes for today’s immediate needs to helping people rebuild their lives with dignity and hope.
But caring starts somewhere. Jesus is teaching that we must learn first to see, then learn to care, then choose to act in compassion and generosity.
Pastor Brian Coffey
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