Refuge

What are you thinking when you do something nice for someone?

Jesus said, “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.’ Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” - Matthew 25:31–46

For me, the motivator is compassion.

I see someone in need and I am moved to do something.  If I cannot do something, I get frustrated, possibly to the point of being angry.

It is easy to respond to a need that is nearby, like the man who comes for a meal or the woman who needs diapers for her child.  But what about someone far away, like the refugees trying to flee Ukraine?

If we see what is going on there and do nothing, are we not the same as the accursed at his left hand who have been separated out?

Surely those who are causing the people to flee are more accursed, right?  

What Jesus is doing here is flipping the way we look at situations.  We are used to the concept of cause and effect.  Those who cause the problem are guilty of what they put the people through.  It is not our failure.

But Jesus says we too are involved.

Just being a witness is enough to get us into the situation.  If we see something, we need to feel compelled to do something.

Yes, the one who destroys another's house is guilty of evil, but the one who sees the family without a home, seeking refuge, that person can be guilty of knowing and doing nothing.

If we truly love our neighbor, we find a way to help.

I may not be able to leave my home and fly there, but I can support those who do.

If you want to help, find someone who is there, like Episcopal Relief and Development, Catholic Relief Services, Save the Children.

More to come...