The Least of These

I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me. (Mt 25:45)

How often do I have a chance to help someone but choose not to? How often do I ignore those in need? How often do I not even notice? Too often! I am selfishly absorbed in my own wants and comfort. I choose me over others. But in this passage Jesus is telling us that the heart of a true Christian is focused on others. And who are those others? Who are “the least of these?” They are the invisible ones, the nobodies who have nobody to care for them. God forgive me for retreating to the comfort of my home with hardly a thought for those in need. I may write a check, but I assume others will get involved in the messy business of people’s lives. But Jesus had something more personal in mind than that. Jesus loved the unlovable. As much as the miracles or the great teaching, it is what defined him. Society’s greatest outcasts found hope and comfort in him. Lord, I want to be like you. Forgive me for ignoring “the least of these.” Teach me to see them as you see them, and to love them as much as you have loved me. Amen.