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This passage is at the
heart of Jesus' description of the end of days in Matthew. Jesus
says that one day everyone will be brought before him for judgment
and those who clothed the naked, fed the hungry, visited the
prisoner and gave drink to the thirsty shall find eternal joy and
those who did not, well, you can imagine what might happen to them!
I wanted to remind you of this passage today so that we might
maintain our focus on the unfolding tragedy in Haiti. I want to use
that occasion to discuss the greater issue that is at the root of
the powerfully tragic images that we have seen on television.
Poverty. Jesus said the poor would always be with us and, this is
true. While this may be true, his words above remind us that we
should never accept the reality of poverty. I bring this up not to
coerce you into donating money to the relief efforts there nor to
make you feel guilty for your comfort or affluence. I bring it up to
remind you that, for Christians, we have an obligation to battle
poverty throughout our lives and the Haitian earthquake once again
exposed the foe which confronts. Poverty exposes its victims to the
worst of nature; it cripples their hope and warps their hearts and
separates them from the world. Poverty is cruel master and it holds
many of our brothers and sisters in Christ in its grip.
My intent today is for us to remember how much work we have to do
and take heart. We do not have much power in Haiti at the moment; we
cannot go there and we do not know anyone there. But we do know
there are poor in all of our communities. Right here in Lincoln
there are people who do not know where their next meal will come
from; people who do not know if they will ever get another job or
how they might pay their medical bills. We do not need to go to
Haiti to find the hungry or thirsty, we need only step outside our
doors. As we think about our task as followers of Jesus Christ we
should never forget that ministry to the poor is at the fore of our
calling and we should always remember that each day give us the
opportunity to minister to Christ himself in the person of those in
need.
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Prayer: Holy God, on this day I pray for the people of
Haiti and ask that you would be present amongst them. And I pray for
the poor in my own community and I ask that you might guide me to
their doorsteps that I might serve you by serving them. I pray in
the name of Jesus. Amen.
[text from file received by Phil Blackburn, First Presbyterian
Church] |
