Tag Archives: The Least of These

Prioritizing Love

Living in the Spirit
November 25, 2017

Scripture Reading: Matthew 25:31-46

‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 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.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “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.” –Matthew 25:31-40

One would think upon reading Matthew 25:31-46 that followers of Christ would place the actions listed as top priority. The list is straightforward and does not require any of us to shape a belief in them to do them. Even if we felt the need to judge those we serve to determine who is worthy and who is not, we surely could find enough who meet our criteria to keep us busy for the rest of our lives. Of course, the scripture does not provide for such judgmental exceptions. A lot of us who claim to model our lives after Christ, center our faith in what we believe not how we love and serve others. Why do we suppose that is?

Believing is a passive activity. Now I must tell you I enjoy a good theological discussion as much as anyone and I think it is good for us to challenge our assumptions. Jesus did parry words with religious leaders caught in establishing their self-righteousness and condemning what they perceived as his straying from the fold. Such activities were not his priority nor did he set them as ours.

Until we can love the least of these, we will never understand God’s unconditional love. God loves all the folks we consider unworthy, and he still loves us too.

Prayer: Lord, order our lives to address your priorities. Enable us to love as you love. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

 Desolate People

Eastertide
May 24, 2017

Scripture Reading: Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35

Father of orphans and protector of widows
   is God in his holy habitation.
God gives the desolate a home to live in;
   he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
   but the rebellious live in a parched land.
–Psalm 68:5-6

I could not find a count of the number of orphaned children, where both parents are dead, in the USA. Relatives assume the care for most. In the years I worked in child welfare, we never received custody of a child whose parents were both deceased. I only recall one, where the mother knew she was near death with cancer who relinquished custody of her four children to the state because she had no family to help her. She kept them as long as she was physically able. Well mannered, smart kids, they were all quickly placed for adoption, not together though. I always regretted that. The system is better at keeping children together now than it was fifty years ago. There are millions of orphans in third world countries, and they are the targets of much global missions work.

The care of orphans was in the earliest Hebrew law (Deuteronomy 14:28-29) and continued to be assigned to the governing authorities whether it was the religious leaders in the early years or later the kings. Children are important for many reasons and particularly because they are all our futures. Thus, I find myself in total shock at the callous way some Oklahoma state legislators and national leaders consider children. We here in Oklahoma are grossly under-funding public education. Recent actions considered at the federal level include skimping on school lunch programs and at the state level attempted to pass a law that would turn children receiving English as second language classes over to ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to get them tossed out of school to cut the cost of education.

Forty-three out of the 300 or so children in the school near my church receive backpacks of food provided by the local food bank each week to take home to eat over the weekend. The school lunch program is most likely their only source of food. Ninety-seven percent of all the students at that school participate in the free or reduced-cost food program. Many ESL students are citizens and all children taken into custody would be traumatized. It is not going to happen. I guess someone did not do their research when considering this action. In June 1982, the Supreme Court issued Plyler v. Doe, a landmark decision holding that states cannot constitutionally deny students a free public education on account of their immigration status*.  It did its job of driving fear into all immigrants and feeding the emptiness of those who fear them.

I wonder from where such thinking comes? Have our lives become so desolate that we can no longer care for the least of these. Are we those rebellious people the Psalmist describes living in a parched land? How do we regenerate, if we are?

Prayer: Lord, let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. (Amos 5:24) Make our parched land a nurturing oasis for all. Amen

*https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/plyler-v-doe-public-education-immigrant-students

All scriptures are quoted from the new Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.