What-so-ever you do to the least of my children....

What-so-ever you do to the least of my children……

From the comparison of sheep and goats we find those who willingly assist the rich or those who can pay back the efforts they make.  However, who would want to help a poor person or one who won’t do anything to help themselves?  In a society that looks down on those who are outside of the central make-up of notable figures the lesser group can never get into the accepted center.  Their insignificance stands out as an unnecessary part of modern society.

A good example of this can be found in Luke’s Gospel which may not fit well with the powers-that-be;  When you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind: blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.  For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.  (Lk 14: 13 - 14).

When Jesus  speaks on the “Judgment of the Nations.” In Matthew's Gospel, there is a direct condemnation of the unrighteous part of society that does not fit well in this hedonistic society we all live in now.  

Perhaps we need to understand how goats are always curious and independent while sheep are more close knit and stay together signifying a real community.  However, Jesus uses goats as those who represent a hedonistic generation that cares only for itself.  Sheep are always identified as the ones who depend on their shepherd for safety, guidance, and a protector of their safety and lives.  So it is with the difference in the king's judgment on giving the lowly percentage of society a break and granting peace and honor to those who are the neediest and a lost generation. 

Look at the significance Jesus places on sheep.  The story of the Good Shepherd and how much concern he shows looking for the one who is lost and leaves the other 99 as he searches for his child.  Upon finding the lost sheep he returns carrying the drifting lamb on his shoulders.  Is it any wonder that God uses the very same concern for you and I when we tend to drift away from the flock of righteousness and he ends up carrying us when we can only see one set of footprints in the sand.  (Jn 10: 11 - 15). 

There is more depth to divine love that stands out as prominent in the care that Christ has given to each of us and sets the eternal example of the importance to our treating the poor as we would treat ourselves.  

We go back to the rings of social significance where a status of importance becomes the opportunity to speak our mind if we are among those who matter no more.  Who will listen to the poor, the crippled, the lame, or the blind when the powers-that-be do not see what lies beneath who is our treasure;  God?  

Sometimes being an elected official of a town might become a curse if the position calls for a prejudicial attitude on the innocent lambs among us; the poor and weak who are the sheep of Christ.  

Ralph B. Hathaway