They never saw Jesus. Surely if they saw him they would have acted. Clearly if Jesus was present the food would have been given and shared. But no one saw the Son of Man, they just saw a homeless man on the side of the road dressed in ragged clothes, needing a bath, and holding a sign asking for food.
Rationalizing is easy. They’re too lazy to actually work. They’re manipulating the welfare system. They’ve blown their money on drugs and alcohol. They’re reaping what they’ve sown. If I dehumanize them, I don’t have to feel guilty when I ignore them.
So Jesus offers a glimpse into the scene on the day of his Return. He divides everyone into two groups as if dividing sheep from the goats. One group is welcomed into his kingdom, while the other group was rejected. One group was called “righteous,” and the other group was called “cursed.” The one group took action, while the other did nothing. Significant to the story, and to history of the church, the Return scene in Matthew 25 is rooted in compassion for the poor, not in specific doctrinal differences that divide the Christian community. In other words, Jesus is more interested in your level of compassion and less concerned about how many times you’ve taken the Lord’s Supper.
One of my fondest memories my two trips to Honduras was feeding the homeless with Amber Foster of Breaking Chains. She made a huge pot of soup and we drove to three locations to distribute the soup to the hungry. They were kind and gracious. They snorted glue from empty Coke bottles. Though we were in a dangerous part of town, I never felt like I was in danger.
I imagine plenty of people could rationalize a reason for Americans to avoid participating in such a ministry. It’s dangerous as the gang activity is high; Americans are at risk on foreign soil. If you get hurt what kind of medical care will you get? Or the government is supposed to take care of the poor. But one night under an overpass as we reached out to homeless families and offered them something to eat and kind words of encouragement, left a lasting impression.
The other day, I left SOMC after visiting a church member, the local hospital. Since it was near lunch time and I was driving past Burger King on my way back to the office, I decided to get a bite to eat. The sign on the door said, “Accepting Applications,” and I took notice of it as I entered the restaurant. I ordered my burger, fries and drink “to go.” With my drink and bag of food in hand, I exited the establishment, got in my car and started my trip back to the church building. As I turned left out of the parking lot, I stopped at the red light. To my left was a homeless man holding a sign asking for food scribbled on a piece of cardboard. Our eyes met. I had the bag of food and drink next to me, unopened. The light turned green and I took my eyes off the man and focused on the road before me. As I reached into the bag for the hamburger, I rationalized . . . “he’s too lazy to work, and he’s probably manipulating the system, and more likely, he’s blown his money on booze.”
As I drove away in silence, something in the back of my mind kept saying, “whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me” (Mt. 25:45).
Soli Deo Gloria!
(i.e. only God is glorified!)