Encountering Christ in everyone we meet
Throughout his public ministry Jesus taught that we must love our neighbors as ourselves and care for the poor and marginalized. In the Gospel of Luke Jesus tells us of a rich man who lived sumptuously while ignoring a poor man, called Lazarus, who was starving to death at his doorstep. Lazarus died and went to heaven; the rich man died as well and was consigned to the netherworld where he was tormented by flames and suffered greatly from thirst. When the rich man pleaded for Lazarus to dip his finger in water and cool his thirst he was told “My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented.”
Jesus constantly and unequivocally commands us to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for the poor, welcome the stranger, care for the sick, and visit those who are in prison.The importance that Jesus places on caring for the poor and marginalized can be measured by the fact that every tenth line in the New Testament is a direct challenge to care for the poor. It should be abundantly clear that Jesus considers acts of mercy and compassion for the poor as important, perhaps more so, than any creed, dogma, or doctrine.
He tells us that when the Son of Man comes he will judge us by whether we served the least of his brothers and sisters; He calls us to love one another, to see Christ in each other, to encounter Christ in everyone we meet. Each of us is the body of Christ—so remember whenever you encounter:
someone who is hungry and you give them food,
someone who is thirsty, and you give them drink,
a stranger and you welcome them,
someone who is naked and you clothe them,
someone who is sick and you care for them,
someone who is in prison and you visit them
that you are doing it to one of the least and to Christ himself.
