Always Remember

Some years ago, I was on the phone with my mom when her doorbell rang.  She put the phone down to answer the door and a minute later, came back.  I asked her who was at the door and without missing a beat, she said, “Jesus.”

As it turns out, the man was homeless and regularly came to her door asking if she had any work for him to do.  I don’t think she ever did, but she always gave him whatever cash she had on hand, usually just a few dollars.

I was thinking, of course, of this story when looking at today’s reading from Matthew 25:31-46 where we hear one of Jesus’s most famous lines that whatever you do for the least of His people, that you do unto Him.

And here like with many stories in the Bible, I like to sometimes imagine what happened next.  And I imagine that one of the disciples, taking careful notes, said something along the lines of, “Okay, Jesus so I got, hungry, thirsty, sick, naked, stranger—I guess you mean homeless here—but who else are the least of these?”

And I imagine Jesus looking at the disciple the same way He looked at the lawyer who asked Him “Who is my neighbor?” after which Jesus shared the Good Samaritan parable basically telling the lawyer—everyone, everyone is your neighbor.

I imagine Jesus looking at His disciple over the question of who are the “least” and saying directly to him, “Everyone.  Everyone is the least.”

Today’s reading is important because Jesus is asking His disciples to see Him, Jesus, in everyone they meet, and by doing so to treat everyone with Love and Kindness.

We are all suffering.  We can’t look at today’s reading and think that we are somehow better if we have food and a roof over our head.  We must understand that we are all suffering and in need.  And it is our responsibility to look after and care for and love one another.

We must see Jesus in everyone we meet in order to do this.

We must humble ourselves.

As you know, I have put a Little Free Library in my front yard for the children in the neighborhood.  I have done this because when they have knocked on my door, I have heard Jesus knocking.  I have done this because I want to saturate the ground surrounding my house with love.  I can hardly keep the books in my library.  As soon as I put a new book out, it is gone in a day or two, but my library is not a lending library, it’s a giving library and I am more than happy that the books never come back.  I want those books to find a new home.

The other night, while I was sleeping, two little girls came to my door.  I know this because my Ring doorbell recorded them.  They knew they were being recorded because they addressed me through the camera, telling me to check my mailbox and then I saw them slide a card into the mailbox.

As soon as I saw the video the next day, I hurried to the mailbox and found a card that read this: “Always remember: You’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think, and loved more than you know.”  And then on the other side, “Believe in love.  She believed she could so she did.”

I have never felt so loved.

That is Jesus love right there.

If you had asked me prior to that if I needed to hear those words, I would have said, “No, I’m good.  I know I’m loved.”

But when it’s two little girls leaving you the message, you realize just how much you needed to hear those words.

That’s the Jesus in them speaking to the Jesus in me.

We lift each other up.

Because we are all the same.

We are all in need.

Amen.