"The king answered them: I assure you, as often as you did if for one of my least breathers, you did it for me."

Mt. 25:40

In our Gospel story (Mt. 25:31-46), Jesus gives his disciples a parable about the final judgment and how those who did not do his work will go off to eternal punishment and the just to eternal life. The just are the ones who fed the hungry Jesus, gave the thirsty Jesus drink, welcomed the unwelcomed Jesus, clothed the naked Jesus and visited the Jesus that was ill or in prison. Jesus teaches that the just will know that they have served Jesus in these and many other ways when they have offered this service to the least of his brothers and sisters. Jesus teaches as often as we do it for one of his least brothers or sisters, we do it for him. And, if we neglect to serve our least brothers and sisters, we neglect Jesus. Those who neglect to serve Jesus in others go off to eternal punishment.

This is a foundational scripture for Mother Theresa and her whole order, The Missionaries of Charity, in their service to the “poorest of the poor.” Mother teaches how we can always remember this scripture of our call to serve Jesus in every person we meet, especially the poor, by looking at our hand. If we are blessed enough to have five fingers, we can put five words to those five fingers, “You did it to me.”

“You did it to me.”

Everything we do to another person, we do to Jesus. What a responsibility! What if it was our goal to leave every person happier and better after every time spent with them?

“You did it to me.” Will I love and serve or ignore? Will I cross the street to get to know the unclean, unshaved, and uncared for homeless person or will I cross the street to avoid that person? Will I use my God-given health to visit the sick, elderly, incarcerated and lonely or will I neglect them as they wait desperately for human contact? Do I wish badly for my enemies or consider them dead or will I work to humbly reconcile myself with them? How much do I feed the poor and how much do I feed my own.

Jesus comes to us in every person we meet and asks, “Will you get to know me so that you can love, serve, feed and cloth me?” We will be judged on whether we have served or ignored Jesus who comes to us in every encounter with another human being. Whatever we choose do in each encounter, we look to our five fingers and remember Jesus saying to us, “You did it to me.”

God’s will!
+Fr. John