They Are All Jesus

Someone once asked Mother Teresa how she had the strength to love so many people. She replied that she loved them all because they are all Jesus.

Jesus told a story about the Kingdom of God that has the King separating people on the basis of how they treated him. Some, he said, fed him when he was hungry, visited him when he was sick or in prison, clothed him when he needed clothes. Others did not.

The ones who had taken care of the King hadn’t realized they did anything for him. Those who had not also did not realize they had skipped opportunities to help the King. Who wouldn’t help a King in need?

The King clarified. “Whenever you showed compassion on anyone, the least of all people, you showed compassion on me. Whenever you ignored or avoided them, you ignored or avoided me.”

They are all Jesus.

Our Church has just wound up a month of a food drive. We got word the food pantry here in McGregor was nearly empty. This was simply unacceptable.

Our Outreach Team created and oversaw the food drive. We had competition between Sunday School Classes. We placed tubs throughout the church in which people could deposit food gifts.

I thought about food drives I’d done before. I always contribute something because I always have plenty of canned food in my house that I will never use. Some of it I bought because it was on sale. Some of it I buy because I have dreams of becoming a cook. Some of it I buy, it would seem, simply to sit on a shelf.

That’s the stuff I used to offer to food drives. After all, people who might need a hand now and then ought to be thankful there is a food pantry. They shouldn’t be too picky about what kind of food is available, right?

If Jesus were the recipient of your “generosity” in a food drive, would it make a difference?