Lectionary: Matthew 25:31-46
Brothers and Sisters, we are directed by our Lord, today, to seek out and to care for the “least of these”. And the stakes are pretty high! For if I neglect the least of these, I am told that I am neglecting my very own Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
But...why is that? Why does it work like that? Why is it that neglecting the “least” ends up in me neglecting “the greatest”, my very own God?
Yes, I know, we are told today that that’s how it works, but perhaps we take for granted, or merely only take it at face value, why that is the way that it is? So maybe I should first ask what are the “least of these”? What function do these people fulfill in my life?
Are they a test? It kind of feels like they’re a test. It feels like these people are placed in my life in order to test me and to see if I’m gonna do the right thing. And if I do the right thing - if I treat the “least of these” correctly - then ultimately, at the end of all things, I’ll be rewarded with inheritance of the kingdom of heaven.
But there’s a bit of a logical failure here. Because by that logic, I’m left now to think that God has placed those people in my life to get in my way. These people are now a trap, or a stumbling block. God puts the least of these on the side of the road, and in the hospitals, and in the prisons, as a way to trip me up, to knock me down. To stand in the way of my reward.
But is that the God that we know? Does the God who went so far as to die for all of us create unnecessary obstacles in order to reach him?
That doesn’t make sense.
So, then, these people surely cannot be a test, or at least not merely a test. So then why are they here? Why does God put these people in my life? Those who suffer, those who hunger, those who are sick, even those who I don’t get along with, those who hate me, those who I am tempted to hate.
Why are they here? Why does God put them in my path if not to test me?
Today, Christ himself tells us that however we treat these people: that is how we treat Him.
But let us not confuse this for a metaphor. Or simply a turn of phrase. Or a rhetorical argument.
Christ is speaking about reality. Christ is speaking about the truth.
Christ is telling us that our actions towards others affect Him, because he himself is present in those people.
And how do we know this? The very beginning of Genesis tells us that every single person that was, is, and will be, is stamped with an image: the very image of God. And so, regardless of who they are, or what they are, or where they’ve been, every single human being bears the very image of Christ, which means the Christ’s presence is in them, which means that whatever you do to them, you literally are doing to Him.
That is what he is telling us today brothers and sisters. And so then, knowing this, perhaps it is easier to answer the initial question: What are the “least of these”? Well, as Orthodox Christians, when we encounter Christ, what do we do with Him?
Here’s a hint: we are all gathered here today on this very morning to do it. We receive him! And as we receive him today, at this Divine Liturgy, what do we call His Body and His blood, those things that we receive?
Gifts! We call them the gifts, because Christ offers them for us, so that we might live, so that we might taste perfection, and enter into eternal life. That is why they are called gifts.
And so, if we call Eucharist a Gift because it bears the presence of Christ, then surely a human being, who is likewise inhabited by that very same presence of Christ: surely they are a gift too. The “least of these” are gifts . They are not tests. They are not burdens, or hurdles to be overcome. The least of these do not stand between us and our reward. The least of these are the reward.
Our Lord and God and savior Jesus Christ is present here with us, in every single person standing here, and in every single person standing anywhere. Because when we receive another person in love, when we welcome the least of these, when we serve the least of these: we receive Christ, we welcome Christ, we serve Christ. And we find ourselves immediately rewarded. Our reward being union and harmony with our brothers and sisters... in Christ.
Jesus Christ offered his flesh on the cross so that all flesh might now become a gift. Christ suffered unspeakable wounds and torture to his body so that all bodies, all of our bodies, might now have the capacity to bear his divinity within us. And today, He shows us precisely the way that we receive that divinity within ourselves: by loving and serving and receiving each other. Mankind was split, mankind was divided, but now - through Christ - we have the glue necessary to find unity, to find harmony with each other. That exchange of Christ that happens when we serve our neighbor, when we love the stranger, it washes away the strangeness.
Suffering for those who need us, suffering for those who hate us, in doing so we embody that same suffering of Christ, a suffering that ultimately leads to a joy that is simply incomprehensible. Infinite joy.
And here we are. God wants to share that joy with us right now, and so he gives us as a gift for us to simply receive: the “least of these”. Those who need us, those who need healing, and care, and love. And when we go to these people, and love them, this is precisely where we find unity together in Christ.
Brothers and sisters, let us find unity with one another, let us look to the “least of these”, and see them for who they truly are: unique and beautiful persons made in the image of God. They are gifts. They make our lives beautiful, meaningful, purposeful, and united. Let’s go to these people – those who are sick, hungry, those who have no one to help them -and let us serve them, and love them, so that we might join them in the love and unity and perfection of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ.
Glory to Jesus Christ!
