The least (and most) of these
Matthew 25:37-40 – “ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?
When did we see you a stranger and take you in, or without clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick, or in prison, and visit you?’
“And the King will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”
The name of the group that oversees our international missions giving and work is called m25. Its name comes from this passage of scripture; Matthew 25. The background to this is Jesus answering his disciples’ questions about the end of days and his prediction of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. In short, he explains the righteous and the unrighteous will be sorted by how well they met the needs of others. It’s one of the few times that Jesus talks about the sorting of people after death and, in this case, it is based on how well we care for the “least of these.”[1] We named our mission group after this passage because it is this call to care for “the least of these” that has inspired our mission work. The economic divide between us here in the US and in places like Honduras or Liberia is staggering and we are called to help our “neighbors” there as much as our neighbors here!
We recognize as a church, and hopefully you do as a Christian, that we have this opportunity and calling to care for others in need. That kind of focus and understanding is one of the main reasons I so love our church! Along these lines, two Sundays ago we launched our partnership with Saving Faith School in Liberia by presenting you all an opportunity to sponsor a child’s education, provide some food and help with clothing and school supplies. One by one, within the first few days we as a church sponsored 42 children! This will be an incredible help to those children, their families and their community. That we can do all of this for $38 a month per child should tell you a little bit about the level of economic poverty there. They are definitely in need of the “scraps from our table” and are ever so grateful for them! I am so incredibly glad and grateful for this outpouring of care and I really believe it is an outpouring of God’s heart working through us as a church. Thank you!
With that said, I also want to caution us of something. Sometimes, I think because we have so much, we might have a tendency to think of those around the world who have so little as being in need of our charity. We look with pity on “the least of these” and want to give them money, help or whatever material thing they need to “take care of them” or “help them out.” There can be a subtle feeling that somehow we are superior or above them in some way. When this happens the relationship only goes one way: from us toward them. If you have ever given five dollars to a homeless person out of pity and never wondered what truth, perspective or connection they could possibly offer back, that is a symptom of this thinking. We so often use money as a gauge for who is “the most of these” or “the least of these” because that is how we are trained to think. The messages all around us say you are more if you have more. And, likewise, those who have less are less.
So, is this what Jesus is thinking about when he refers to the poor as “the least of these?” Not at all. Jesus is using the world’s standards of judging a person’s worth as a counterpoint to God’s standards. While the world might see people as less than if they don’t have as much, Jesus instead flips that. He goes so far as to say that how well we treat them is how well we know him! God cares about each and every person equally and their wealth, status, abilities, fame or abilities never factors in at all. For him, his standard is always based on a person’s depth of relationship with him and the depth of their relationships with those around them. God’s economy is always relationship.
Can I challenge you? Will you try more and more to see people through God’s eyes and his values instead of what the world tells you? Love those who offer no economic or social benefit for you to do so. Push yourself to be willing to sacrifice possessions or social standing in order to better understand and share God’s heart. Find ways to make relationships with those around you the priority. And if you are one of the wonderful people who sponsored one or more of the Saving Faith kids, don’t let it be just a financial thing. You can write letters, share pictures and talk to your kids or grandkids about them. Let’s let that flow both ways. And here’s the beauty of doing all of this: when we let others give back to us whether it’s perspective, opportunities to give or just relationship, we can begin to see where we are the “least of these.” Maybe not financially but in each one of our own, different ways.
In God’s economy, “the least of these” and “the most of these” are measured on a very different standard than our own. It takes diligent work and a tender heart to see it and it starts by realizing we have as much of the need for others as they have need of us. After all, the two greatest commandments are to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and love our neighbor as ourselves. If we do, we will truly have riches in heaven. Let’s work together to get there.
Grace and peace to you!
Trevor Owen, Pastor of Spiritual Formation
PS If you are interested in sponsoring a child at Saving Faith School, there are more they could use help. Just reach out or come talk to me some Sunday!
