“Do not stop being good when you notice that your goodness is being abused.” Divine Mercy in My Soul # 1701
Do you ever hold back your mercy out of judgment? Of course not? Don’t be so quick. Has a homeless person on the street ever made you wonder if they were really needy or cheating people of their money? Has a homeless person ever asked for money for food only to say they didn’t like that food when you offered to take them to McDonalds? Did you just walk away? What about the man kneeling on the corner with the “hungry, anything helps” sign while holding a cell phone? Did you walk by? Ever said, “No, sorry, I have nothing on me” when you knew there was even a dollar in your wallet?
The world can make us hesitant to help strangers. That hesitancy can sometimes even lead to not quickly helping those we know. Ever have a friend ask for help one evening only to answer him that you were busy, finding yourself just sitting around watching tv that night?
““When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” Matthew 25:31-32
We’ve all been there. I felt the weight of Matthew 25’s judgment one rainy day several years ago. I was walking across town to catch my bus after work. It was raining very hard so I was thankful I brought my umbrella – so often I would forget to check the weather. As I came down a long stretch of sidewalk, I saw a young woman holding a young child while another clung close to her leg. They had no umbrella or rain gear so she was making her best effort to shade the children with her body. Lost in my thoughts, I watched them approach from a hundred feet away and walked right passed. I didn’t take but three steps when I the Lord speak the words of Matthew 25:45, ‘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.’ I turned and then ran to catch up with the mother now 25 feet away. I offered her my umbrella. She hesitated, then smiled and turned to continue her walk, now sheltered by my umbrella. I turned to proceed on my path, now with a wicker step either due to the rain or what I had done. After just 10 steps I turned back to look at the mother. She and her kids were gone. I saw no sign of them anywhere on the street. There was no way they made the corner or any doorway as we were in the middle of the block. Standing there in the rain, God spoke again to me, “as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” (V 40). I smiled and walked away knowing in that moment, I had had an interaction with God.
The question isn’t if we will be judged for our actions and thoughts, but, what will the judgment be when it comes? We will all face the judgment throne. Do you want to be judged for helping someone who didn’t really need help? Or, for passing by Jesus the beggar of the street?