Matthew 25:42-45
for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’
We saw you…
in the eyes of the homeless guy who sits near the ATM
as we made our transaction
and he pleaded for enough spare change
to pay for a night in the hostel
We saw you…
In those queued outside the cafe
that allows folk to pay it forward
a queue that silently waits
for the dregs we leave behind
We saw you…
in the harried mum
who is desperately trying to keep her child from kicking off
on the over-crowded train that is proving too much
for her child’s neuro-diverse world
knowing her parenting is being judged and found wanting
We saw you…
Even as we frowned and tutted
at the one who stumbled on approaching the communion rail
not noticing how you greeted them with outstretched arms
as you would any long lost friends
and in the woman with learning difficulties
who can barely read the liturgy
but who knows grace when she sees it
in the bread and the wine
We saw you, Lord…
And you see us
You call us today
not to fix the brokenness of the world
but to keep on seeing you
hunkered amidst the pain and the hurt
choking in the dust and the rubble
and not to look away
to offer a hand
or a cup of cool water
for all of “the least of these.”
Liz Crumlish November 2023
