Sunday, February 26, 2006

Hungry for love

I think I have a new favorite bible verse... Christ said, "I was hungry and you fed me; thirsty and you gave me drink; naked and you clothed me; sick or in prison and you came to me; a stranger and you welcomed me... Because you did it to the least of my brethren, you did it to me." Christ divides the sheep from the goats... sheep representing people who help one another, goats representing people who do not. The sheep go to "heaven", the goats go to "hell". What I love most about this story is that nowhere does Christ say that Christians are sheep and Jews are goats, or Catholics are sheep and Protestants are goats, or men are sheep and women are goats, or heterosexuals are sheep and homosexuals are goats. The only distinction Jesus has between different people are whether or not the love/help/serve others. It doesnt matter what ethincity, religion, or sex you are... it only matters how you treat one another. I find it interesting that some people take it upon themselves to judge condemn other people because of their beliefs, their sexual orientation, the color of their skin.... but never do people condemn others for not helping other people. In fact, often it is praiseworthy to hurt/kill others! But Jesus never called for that... he called for love. In this verse, not only are we called to give food to people who hunger for food... but also to give LOVE to people who hunger for LOVE. Some of the most well-fed, well-dressed people still hunger for love! Outcasts to society (i.e. homosexuals, people with AIDs, the elderly, etc) may not hunger for food, but they hunger for love, compassion, and understanding. Jesus calls for social justice ministry to all people, by all people, for ALL people. And I only pray that I can be strong enough to fufill God's call and love other people as God loves me.