Matthew 25:44
"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 they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?
Have you ever had a teacher say, “there is no such thing as a stupid question?” I have always wanted to debate this, as all of us have been in a place where internally we have thought, “that is a stupid question”. In these moments, we believe something is common sense, as if to say, how could you not know the answer?
It is easy to read this scripture and think, “wow, that is an alarming question, how could they not know?,” yet there are increased levels of apathy to various areas of injustice in our world today. How often do we pass by the hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, sick, and imprisoned?
Choosing to engage rather than be apathetic can be overwhelming, but I encourage you to begin noticing and asking people their names. When Jesus passed by those who needed ministered to, he called them to himself by name, indicating value and worth. Oftentimes, the least of these would be passed by day after day without acknowledgement, nameless. Yet when called by name there was an empowerment to rise, be healed, and restored to community. As the commandments go, love God and love others. God functions within relationship, and we too are called to extend this function and be community to those marginalized and isolated among us. May we not pass by Jesus within humanity today.
Art: Katie Wigglesworth | "Exchange" | hand woven hand-dyed tencel | 2021
Practice: Write a Collect Prayer
Reflect on your Lenten journey these past several weeks and write a collect prayer. You can use David Taylor's breakdown of a collect prayer as your guide (click here).
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