Whatever You Did For the Least of These

 

I watched the Lone Ranger TV show when I was a kid. I always thought that it seemed a little silly to think that you couldn’t recognize someone just because they were wearing a mask.  Then along came COVID and things changed. I found out on several occasions that others couldn’t recognize me with my mask on and I noticed that I often had a hard time figuring out who someone was when they were wearing their mask.

 

There is a spiritual corollary to this. Jesus talked to His disciples about the day of judgment (Mt 25:31-46). The King separated the people based upon what they did or didn’t do for him when he was hungry, thirsty, a stranger, sick, or needing clothes. When the people said that they never saw the King like this, he replied, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me” (Mt 25:40).

 

We will likely come in contact with many people today.  We need to see beyond their outward appearance and realize that Jesus comes to us through each of them. That recognition should lead us to greater acts of love and service.

 

We’ll talk more about service in the next post.