Our Stories
The Least of These
By Kim Hjelm | posted 04/09/2009
"Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, 'Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. For I was hungry, and you didn't feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn't give me a drink. I was a stranger, and you didn't invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn't give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn't visit me.'
"Then they will reply, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?'
"And he will answer, 'I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.'
"And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life" (Matthew 25:41-46)
It was one of those really cold mornings a few weeks ago, closer to 20° than 30° and it was starting to snow. I was cozy warm in my jeans, sweater, fleece jacket and wool socks. We thought a nice hot latte sounded good so stopped at Starbucks on the way to church. As we entered the busy but warm store, our way was blocked by a shopping cart. Not just a shopping cart but one loaded with a collection of old blankets, clothes, bins and boxes – as if someone had cleaned out a long neglected closet. All of it was covered with black plastic garbage bags tied neatly and securely at each corner. A woman was tucking something under the black plastic into the cart. She was incongruously dressed in white cotton pants that were much too short, a light weight sweatshirt and one of those cheap, flimsy, clear plastic ponchos...the kind they give out for free at some parades and sporting events. Her dirty bare toes were sticking out of worn white sandals. As I looked closer I noticed she was not a young woman. Her hands, feet and legs were red, swollen, dry and chaffed. Obviously this woman was homeless. This overloaded, plastic covered shopping cart contained everything she owned...shelter, clothes, food...everything. She began pushing her cart out the door...
"Give her your socks."
What? But that would cause a scene. I would need to take off my shoes, take off my socks, put my shoes back on without socks...
"Give her your socks."
I wouldn't want to embarrass her in front of all these people...
"Give her your socks."
She probably does not want my dirty socks...what would people think?
The time it took for this argument to banter about in my brain, the woman had exited and was on her way down the street. As I watched her hunch down to face the frigid air, my heart sank with the realization of what had just happened.
I had failed...again.
I had failed to let Jesus shine through me, to comfort and help someone. I had failed to step aside and let Jesus work through me. And as Matthew 25:45 says, I in reality overlooked Jesus when I overlooked that child of God dressed as a homeless woman.
This is not an easy thing to admit and it seems even worse seeing it in glaring black and white upon a page, but I am hoping that by being transparent about my shortcomings that the next time an opportunity presents itself to either you or me, we will act without hesitation and without arguments within ourselves. That we will see as Jesus sees and do as He would do. Then the King will say to us:
'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.'
"Then these righteous ones will reply, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?'
"And the King will say, 'I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!' (Matthew 25:34-40)
I pray for us to see the King’s face in all faces...that we recognize it was for the "least of these" that He suffered and sacrificed His life. I pray especially as Good Friday approaches that these thoughts are at the forefront of our thinking as we meditate and worship at the cross.
To respond to this message, email Kim at kim.hjelm@gmail.com.
