March 26 - Fifth Sunday of Lent

Recorded Worship on YouTube

Matthew 25:31-46

Deborah Laforet

When Did We See You…?

Let us pray.  May the words from my lips and the meditations of my heart be guided by your Spirit and be words of wisdom for this day.  Amen.

The United Church of Canada provides a helpful definition of a guaranteed livable income on its website as follows:

A guaranteed livable income (GLI) is a payment to individuals or families by government that covers the cost of basic necessities (food, shelter, clothing, transportation, and community participation) and is not conditional on meeting employment criteria in order to qualify for the benefit. It ensures everyone an income adequate for meeting basic needs, allowing all people to live with dignity regardless of work status. Such a program would be part of the national fabric of services that preserve and protect Canadians; or, as Jesus put it, “to love our neighbours as ourselves.”

The scripture reading we heard today is a very popular one for Christians that do mission.  The verse we tend to hear a lot is, “Whatever you do, or don’t do, for the least of these, you do, or don’t do, for me.”

The scripture begins with the Promised One, or what is often translated the Son of Man, who arrives to sit on the royal throne before all the nations, presumably to judge the good from the bad.  Now, I don’t know why the sheep are chosen ones and put on the right and the goats are the ones on the left and cast into the everlasting fire, except that shepherds and sheep were part of the culture and sheep were more docile and probably more marketable for their wool and mutton.  From what I know of goats, they aren’t as marketable except for their milk and they can be fairly independent and obstinate.  I tend to relate more to the goats, honestly.

As we read on though, this ruler on the throne is not talking to sheep and goats, but to the nations assembled before the throne.  Those on the right are praised and blessed, “For I was hungry and you fed me; I was thirsty and you gave me drink.  I was a stranger and you welcomed me; naked and you clothed me.  I was ill and you comforted me; in prison and you came to visit me.”  Those people don’t say, “Aw, shucks.  It was nothing.”  They are baffled.  When did we see you hungry or thirsty?  When did we welcome you or clothe you or comfort or visit you?  In other words, they weren’t doing these acts in order to be rewarded.  They weren’t doing it so that others would notice and give them praise.  They weren’t doing it because they had been told to do it.  They were doing these acts of compassion because it was what needed to be done.  Of course you feed people who are hungry and give drink to those who are thirsty.  Of course you welcome the stranger and clothe the naked.  Of course you offer comfort to those who are ill and visit those imprisoned.  They are following the golden rule.  Love your neighbour as you love yourself.

They have no idea that not everyone offers these acts of compassion.  Not everyone looks beyond their own selves and loved ones to those who are in need.  In our story, these would be the goats or those on the left.  They are chastised and named accursed ones, 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 gave me no welcome; naked and you gave me no clothing.  I was ill and in prison and you did not come to visit me.”  Likewise, these people are also baffled, and probably a bit scared of the wrath directed at them.  Of course they would never treat their ruler in such a way.  When did we see you hungry or thirsty?  When did we not welcome you or clothe you or not comfort or visit you?  This can’t be possible.

They have been blind to those in need.  They have overlooked those in need of food and drink.  They have turned their backs on strangers and turned away from the naked.  They have blamed those who are ill and those in prison for their hardships.  They weren’t thinking about punishment for their inaction.  It’s not that they were told not to act. They probably weren’t inactive because they were filled with hate and ill will towards others.  They were just not seeing the need.  Their eyes were closed.  Their ears were shut.  They lived in their own bubble and were unwilling to open their minds and hearts to what was needed by those around them.

It’s a harsh passage and very black and white.  Good on the right.  Bad on the left.  In reality, most of us probably fall somewhere in between.  In fact, I would guess that most of us want to be on the right but aren’t quite sure how.  We live in a complex world, but it sounds like it should be easy.

Feed the hungry and give drink to the thirsty, but aren’t we taught to teach a person how to fish so they will never go hungry?  How do we give people their own agency to meet their own needs.  Welcoming the stranger can also be complex.  How do you know if the stranger isn’t trying to manipulate you.  Many of us might like to open our doors to anyone, but we are taught that it isn’t safe to do so.  Caring for someone who is ill sounds easy but how does a society care for those with chronic illnesses, physical or mental?  Who cares for those without family or supports?  And our prison system has gotten out of hand, becoming a source of profit for some, and a place of trauma for the poor, marginalized, and mentally ill.

It can all seem overwhelming at times, and so complex that we become frozen, doing nothing, not knowing what to do.  In some way though, it’s not as complex we think.

We have been having some important conversations the past few months.  For those of you staying for the annual meeting, you’ll hear about some of the conversation the Board has been having with indigenous people in Halton, black people in Halton, a Brazilian community in Oakville, and the LGBTQIA+ community in Halton - all groups who need space to accomplish their mission.

We’ve also been talking about unhoused or homelessness in Halton.  We’ve been reading about a woman named Margaret, who lived and died on the streets in Hamilton.  We learned of the failure to provide her and the many others with supports and affordable housing, who end up living on the streets.  The Halton Interfaith Council and Oakville Ministerial have talked a few times about how we our faith communities might create warming centres in Oakville, as a temporary measure, for people when it gets dangerously cold, and possibly cooling centres for when it gets dangerously hot.

These problems have solutions.  A guaranteed livable income is one of those solutions.  Emergency or transitional housing, as well as permanent housing with full-time supports are two more solutions.  Part of the problem is changing our way of thinking, our way of viewing those who are struggling and in need.  Seeing people as problems to solve, seeing people as a project, seeing people as harmful and dangerous, seeing people as lost causes, are all harmful ways of viewing humans, people like you and like me, who have experienced trauma, who have lost jobs, who have mental illnesses, or are chronically disabled, who do not have the supports they need to live a life of dignity, to live a life with opportunities, to live a life where all are safe and all can feel they belong.

We can all work together to make this happen.  Part of making this happen is spreading the word and creating a will.  If politicians know that this is what people want and this is how they will get re-elected, they will work towards this vision, and they probably will even feel good about it.

We have spent three months talking about homelessness.  At our book study on Wednesday, we will ask the question, “What’s next?”  I hope that we all will have that conversation.  What’s the next step?

Whatever you do to the least of these, you do to me.  People talk about seeing the Christ in those people we are helping. Remember though, that Christ is in all of us.  When we connect another, they are also connecting with us.  We all have struggles.  We all have hopes and dreams.  Some of us may have more challenges and struggles, and more needs, but we all have a story.  We all need connection.  We all need each other.  The Christ in us connects with the Christ in others.  The Spirit in others connects with the Spirit in us.  We are one.  One humanity.  One life on this earth.  If one is hurting, we all hurt.  If one part of this world in which we live is suffering, so do we all.

But if we all feel like we have a place to belong, a place where we are safe, where we are loved, where we can be ourselves, where we can take risks and have dreams, what a world that would be!  A heaven on earth.  May it be so.  Amen.

Deborah Laforet