Have
I gotten accustomed to the injustice in my surroundings?
Today the Church invites us to contemplate two texts fundamental to the Christian understanding of how we should live our lives. A familiar way of looking at them would underline the move Our Lord makes from the negative to the positive aspect of Law through the preaching of Jesus Christ. We should not steal, we should not kill, or do injustice to our brothers and sisters. The Law, given to the Hebrew people through Moses, is the beginning of God’s lesson to us, and remains as important today as ever. However, there is more, says Jesus. It is not only prohibitions on evil deeds that we should bear in mind; the true Christian call is also to go out and feed the hungry, clothe the naked and visit the prisoners. On the day of the Judgment, Our Lord will not look at a list of prohibitions we breached, but rather survey the opportunities to do good that we made use of.
We all know that, but it is good that the Church should keep reminding us. This said, I would like to draw our attention to one aspect of today’s Gospel. The “goats”, when hearing Our Lord, are surprised.
“Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?” And God needs to tell them: “Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me”. Notice: at least some of them thought they were fine!
This should make us realize the importance of reflecting about our lives and days in a continuous manner. How often do we pass “these least ones” and refrain from ministering to them? Have we gotten used to the fact that some people “simply are” homeless, lonely, or struggling? Of course, in today’s world “everything is more complicated than this”. We pay taxes, give to charity, and hope that professionals will use our money to help those in need. To some extant this is great. But is this all God calls us to? Have we not numbed our consciences?
Today I ask myself: when am I failing to minister to others, because I have just accepted that some people’s needs are just part of the “normal course of life”? And I ask Jesus: when do I keep failing to minister to your needs, Lord?”
