He has done great things for me. Great things for me. Tonight my brain just isn’t stopping. I am a bit terrified. I am leaving Jersey tomorrow. Jersey is my home. I want to go, but I don’t want to leave. I want to drink right now. I can’t. I won’t. Why did I eat all my chocolate last night?
I have been having another conversation with God since last Saturday that keeps rolling around in my brain. It is about Lazarus and the rich man and the parable with Jesus talking about the people who didn’t feed Him and give Him clothes. I keep wondering if there is anyway for the rich man to justify himself in the 21st century. I keep wondering if there is anyway for me to justify myself in the 21st century.
When you read the parable, the rich man seems so evil even to the westerner; but he is the westerner. This past week I keep wondering what the difference is between the starving child sitting literally on my doorstep or just living in a place where I know the child is and am able to feed him. How can there possibly be a difference? The starving orphan is on my doorstep and I cannot look away. The neighbor who doesn’t know God; he is on my door.
Then there is that other story Jesus tells. What if someday He says to me, “I was hungry and you did not feed me. I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. I was naked and you did not clothe me. I was homeless and you did not give me a bed to lie on.” I want to err on the side of caution even if it means I accidentally feed a human instead of Him some days. I would rather wonder when I fed Him than not feed Him.
Now I am off to bed. I must rise in five and a half short hours.
“But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left. “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
“Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’
“Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’
“Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’
“And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’
“And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.” – Matthew 25:31-46