Matthew 25: 34-40
“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 something
to 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, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You,
or thirsty, and give You something
to drink?
‘And
when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?
‘When
did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’
“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.”
Today we had a missionary priest come and talk to us about
Food For The Poor. This is a non-denominational Christian charity that lives out the Corporal
Works of Mercy and truly cares for the least of our brothers and sisters. His homily
was heartfelt and reminded us of Jesus’ command to love our neighbor. His words
were sobering. For many of us to be poor means not having the latest Iphone. To
the people he ministers to poor means not having any food to eat today. Poor means
only having dirty, feces contaminated water to drink.
We see these ploys for our money all of the time. Sally
Struthers pulls at our heart strings with pictures of dirty, forgotten children
is some foreign land. Closer to home we have homeless living in boxes and
people on street corners holding cardboard signs looking for hope. Social media
is full of memes about refugees and our own homeless veterans. Why should you
care? Why should you give any of these beggars the time of day?
The truth is that God provides for
all people. Some he provides exactly what they need to survive. Others he
provides an abundance to. If he has given you an abundance he is providing you
to someone in greater need. Do you respond to his call? Do you provide for
another where you can or do you hoard the abundance for yourself?
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I opened my eyes as if waking to a
new day. The light was tranquil and warm, brighter than usual but not so much
that it hurt the eyes. It was strange because I could not see the sun or any
other form of illumination. The light didn’t come from any one direction. It
just was. I was dressed in a tunic so
white that it seemed to almost glow with a brilliant radiance.
I looked around me. I was outside
standing in front of a soaring fence with a massive gate made of ivory and
gold. Beyond lay an immense palace like none I have ever seen. It reached up into the clouds and ran left
and right as far as the eye could see. The whole thing appeared to be made of
gold and shimmered in this light. Each story was decorated in ornate statues
and carvings. Thousands of windows lined every level.
To the right, on my side of the
fence, there was a massive building that had a stone roof and no walls. It
looked similar to a stable. The roof was supported by large stone pillars that
reminded me of the giant sequoia in Yosemite National Park. There were hundreds
of tables all aligned in a row under the stone ceiling. Each table had four
chairs all on the same side facing away from the palace. Looking outward from
the tables there was a stone railing that ran the entire length of the
building.
Then people started to appear
around me as if they were walking out of a mist. Each was dressed as I was, in
a pure white tunic that glowed. Their faces also seemed to radiate light.
Although we all were very close to one another no one spoke a word. We gathered
and looked longingly at the golden palace beyond the gate. We must have
numbered a thousand or more.
After a time, a man in a golden
robe appeared. He was the most beautiful person I had ever seen. He welcomed us
and told us not to be afraid. He invited us to a feast that was to be served in
the stone building to our right. We all went and took a place at a table. Soon
servants appeared carrying platters with the most mouth-watering foods upon them.
One of these platters was placed before each person.
Before we began to eat I noticed
another group of people gathering on the opposite side of the stone railing.
These people we not like us. Their tunics didn’t glow and their faces weren’t
radiant. Their tunics were dirty and a dingy
gray. Their faces were gaunt, eyes sunken and dismal. These poor wretched
people reminded me of the pictures of the Jews in the concentration camps I had
seen. They looked at us sadly almost pleading for our attention, but not a word
was uttered.
The man in the gold robe gave the
ok and our multitude ravenously attacked their platters. I grabbed a chicken
leg off of my platter, one of my favorites, and brought it to my lips. But then
I looked out at the other multitude looking so desperately back at me. I put the chicken down and looked at them.
Then I looked left and right at the people seated beside me. They all were so
busily devouring their food that they couldn’t cast even the smallest glance at
the people along the railing.
I sat for a while and thought about
this. If I were dead would I really have a need for food? If this were heaven
wouldn’t there be enough for everyone? I stood up from the table and grabbed my
platter. I walked to the railing and handed my platter out to the people. Each
took a piece of food and passed the platter to another. I returned to my place
at the table and sat with nothing before me. The people to the right and left
of me shielded their platters, fearful that I would try to take some of their
food.
When the feast had ended and
everyone had eaten their fill the tables and platters looked to have more food
on them than before we had begun. Surely this food could be given to the
starving masses on the other side of the stone railing. I looked towards them
but, to my surprise, they were all gone. There was no sign that there had ever
been a crowd there. My empty platter lay on the ground.
We rose and started exiting the
great hall one by one. The man in the golden robe was at the end of the line.
He said something to each person as they exited, then turning right they would
wonder off in the direction of where the starving people had gathered. I
watched them as they walked away. The glow of their tunics died out and they
took on a dingy gray color. The radiance of their face faded. Their eyes
started to recede. You would have never known that they just eaten the feast of
their lives because they quickly started looking like the staving crowd that
had been watching us.
I became very fearful for soon it
would be my turn to leave this place. I was almost in a panic as I approached
the man in gold. The person two ahead of me wondered off to the right. Then the
one before me did as well. Now it was my turn and I wanted to run, hide under a
table. The man in gold put his arm around me and we began to walk together
toward the gate of gold and ivory.
“Have no fear.” The man said to me.
“For you have received the kingdom of heaven.”
“What of the others?” I asked,
still afraid.
“They have received their reward.” He
replied calmly.
Continuing he said, “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. All of you have been saved because of your
faith in me but only you will redeemed this day because you have heard my
command and have followed it.”
“And what becomes of the others?” I
asked.
“They have been spared from the
fires of Hell but they will not receive the kingdom until someone like you
loves them enough to feed them the way you have done for these brothers.” He
answered.
“How often does that happen?” I dared
continue.
“Rarely one in a thousand will put
the needs of others before their own desires.” He concluded.
As he finished his reply we were
joined by a group of about thirty people led by a man I barely could recognize.
Before me, in a glowing white tunic and radiant face, stood the man I had
handed my platter of food to. He
embraced me with a hearty hug and a kiss on each cheek.
The man in gold motioned toward the
palace and the now open gates. “Go inside. I have prepared rooms for all of
you.”
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Why should you care? Because Jesus has told you to care. He
has told you to love your neighbor. To love is to will the best for someone.
Any organization that serves the poor is worthy of your support. It doesn’t
have to be this one. This is one of many. None of them can do it without
generous contributors. If you have no money and you send a dollar you are a
generous contributor. God will multiply that dollar as he multiplied the loaves
and fishes. All you have to do is have faith. Give Food For The Poor a look and if you are able
to help them do so. If you are unable to help them help someone in need even if
all you can do is offer someone a warm smile and a hello. Recognizing their dignity and seeing them as a person is the first step to loving them.
Be a blessing to everyone you meet and allow them to be a
blessing to you.
