Word to the Wise
Monday, February 11, 2008 - Monday in the First Week of Lent
[Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18 and Matthew 25:31-46]"Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?" And the king will say to them in reply, "Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."
"When did we see you.....?" This is the question asked by the blessed and by the cursed in this famous scene from the Gospel of Matthew. Those who will inherit the kingdom are the ones who genuinely live Christ's law of love in very practical ways. Some scholars say that this scene may also be read in terms of how people receive the messengers of the kingdom. But the poor, the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the imprisoned, the sick - all these are messengers of the kingdom. It is when we are unable to "see" them that we are truly blind and subject to a harsh future judgment. Remember the parable in the Gospel of Luke about Lazarus and the Rich Man ("Dives"). The rich man was simply blind to the beggar at his doorstep! I remember Archbishop Thomas Kelly, OP (recently retired from Louisville) saying once that when he became archbishop and was living at the Cathedral, the policy of providing food assistance to the transients on the street at the front door was changed by someone to move them to the back. He asked that the original practice be reinstated because it seemed that no one wanted to truly "see the face of the poor" out front. It might be a very revealing and helpful practice to ask ourselves if there is someone in that list from the gospel who is truly "invisible" to us? Do we ever "see" these folks? Are we one of them, waiting to be seen? Sometimes even a generous response maintains a "clinical distance" so that there is no true encounter with the person. If we remember that our response is to Christ himself in the person of the hungry, thirsty, naked, imprisoned, perhaps we may wish to reassess our "distant love." Lent can be a demanding time! AMEN
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