The Least Of These

THE LEAST OF THESE

a prayer to open

Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

May your Kingdom come, may your will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

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.

Jesus told a story that invited his followers to picture a world where every person—and particularly those who are at the margins of society—is treated with the dignity and honor of a king. But not just any king: King Jesus. If we saw King Jesus hungry, we wouldn’t look down our noses and refuse him food for whatever reasons we might conjure in our own minds.

Close your eyes and imagine yourself sitting in a favorite, familiar spot. Get comfortable there, listening for sounds, seeing what is around you. Then imagine Jesus next to you or across from you, looking into your eyes and then saying these words: “When you see the vulnerable and most dishonored in society, see me, and treat them with the dignity and care you would extend to me.”

• What would you do today if you allowed Jesus’ words to guide you? What would you stop doing today if you allowed his words to guide you?
• What doubts arise in you as you think about serving the “least of these” (verse 40) in the ways Jesus instructed his disciples? What fears or worries arise in you when you consider his words applying to you?
• When you don’t care for vulnerable or discarded people when you encounter them, what stops you? Take a few moments to ask God to show you if there are ways in which you need to grow in your attitudes and actions toward the outcasts in our society.

Father, give me eyes to see the least of these and come to their aid whenever necessary and whatever the cost. I don’t want to view some as lower than others, some deserving of less dignity. Help me see Jesus in those who are hungry or thirsty, in those who are homeless and ragged. Give me eyes to see the King in those who have come from a different land or are suffering with sickness or are imprisoned. Build in me a spirit that says, “Of course I will help. Of course I will serve. Of course I will love.” May it be so.