"For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.”
Matthew Chapter 25 includes some of the most famous lines in scripture. It forms the core of the Corporal Works of Mercy. It has so inspired our own Columbus Catholic Worker community that we have chosen to include it in our mission statement.
Its very clear in what it asks. While I am certainly open to many and myriad interpretations of any text, certainly on a literal level this one is rather upfront about its call for food, clothing, shelter, hospitality, comfort and dignity.
What I find most striking is what it does not say. It never says how much we should do. How do you live out this commandment? Do you give of your spare change and your free time? Do you put aside a set percentage of your resources? Do you work tirelessly?
Any of those answers (even the one about working tirelessly) would be easier than what Matthew offers: Silence. I've shouted this question out to God many times, only to hear the reverberation of my echo in reply.
But it is a reply, nonetheless. That is because the question is not to much to God but really to ourselves. The Bible invites us into a relationship with ourselves. Thomas Merton does a fine job pointing this out in Opening the Bible To think it out, to sweat it out, to wrestle with it, as Daniel Berrigan might say (Ten Commandments for the Long Haul). To sit up late at night. To try it. To immerse ourselves in it.
Its not supposed to be easy. Its not about checking items off a list, even if the tasks or sacrifices are costly to us. The answer is to personally involve ourselves in the question, as well as the answer. Bottom line is: You can't mail this one in (even though you may, after much soul searching, decide that mailing in a check may be the best option at a juncture).
“Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”
New Revised Standard Version Matthew 25:35-36 (above), 40 (below).
Hey,
ReplyDeleteI just put up a series of posts about Thomas Merton that I think you’d enjoy at:
http://michaelkrahn.com/blog/thomas-merton/
Well, I think many questions surface around this passage from the bible; when to give, how much, in what way?
ReplyDeleteI shrink in the seat of my car when I see a homeless person at the exit ramp asking for change. Will he use money for alcohol,or worse? I want to give but I don't want to contribute to a vice.
So, I search for ways to give otherwise. Gifts of time, money and stuff to those who need it.
Is it enough? It never feels like enough. Can I give more? I am sure of it.
The other day I saw a middle schooler walking without a coat in the freezing rain. I was traveling in my car and I took note of my work coat and felt like turning around and giving it to him. I was late for my next appointment, and I let that be my excuse for not turning around. But, I wish I had. (I am still thinking about it.)
I can't count how many times someone has been in the right place at the right time for me. I am truly blessed.
My hope is that as opportunities arise to do what Jesus calls us to do in Matthew 25 that I will have the discernment to make the right decision.