Caught in the Act of Caring

Scripture lessons:

Ezekiel 34.11-16, 20-24

Matthew 25.31-46

And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you,

Just as you did it to the least of those who are members of my family,

you did it to me.’

Matthew 25.40 (New Revised Standard Version)

 

There is a beautiful pulpit in St. Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh, Scotland that is carved from stone. On its sides a sculptor has shaped small figures in the act of caring for people in need: feeding the hungry, welcoming strangers, and visiting those in prison. Along the sides of the pulpit, the stone is radiant with expressions of love.

The acts of mercy depicted on the pulpit in St. Giles’—and described in the Gospel of Matthew—are indispensable to human growth and healing. How would we survive without being fed or cared for, especially at our most vulnerable moments? Furthermore, Jesus promises that in the midst of such care we encounter him. He is as close to us as the person needing comfort, shelter, food and friendship.

“I will seek the lost,” says God through the prophet Ezekiel. A word of welcome to a stranger, a donation of time to a food pantry, letters to a prisoner and a phone call to a grieving friend, represent just some of the ways in which we, too, can care for those who have been bruised and battered by life. Through such acts of mercy we join our lives to the cause of God, and share our live with Jesus, the man for others.

 

Prayer: Forbid, O God, that we should overlook the opportunities to serve you that lie before us each day; and help us to be faithful to you in ways that are small and great; in Jesus’ name. Amen.

~ by Rev. Dr. Edward Horstmann on June 13, 2007.