The Gospel according to Matthew (25:31-46)
Jesus said to his disciples: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’ Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Reflection: There is this show on Netflix that Connie and I have been “binge-watching”. It’s called “New Amsterdam”. It’s about the trials, tribulations, and situations at this public hospital in New York. The main character, Dr. Max Goodwin, who is the Medical Director of this massive hospital, bares heavy responsibilities and doesn’t really care about the financial stability of the hospital but only cares about his staff and the people who need help, his patients. So, his mantra throughout the series is “How can I Help”. He tells his patients that, his janitorial staff, his security guards, his doctors, and nurses. Using this concept and acting upon it, his staff have adopted that same notion.
These four little words remind me of our beloved Bishop Dave. He may not have used these specific words, but he sure did use these words by example. He was there to help someone in need and was there to help with no question. Bishop Dave was a man of service and assisted his people to the best of his knowledge. He was there for the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the homeless, the imprisoned and the ill. And he did this with a smile and much compassion. Bishop Dave was an example of today’s scripture ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’
Bishop Dave was always available to everyone, and he loved being with everyone. He was known for his comedic nature and his joke telling. Every time he was called to speak, he would walk towards the podium with this stoic face and as he got closer to the microphone this grin would turn to a smile. Once he arrived at the microphone, he would always start with a few jokes. Simply put; “That was who he was”.
Dr. Max Goodwin appears to be a “too good to be true” character on the show but Bishop Dave was just like him. Bishop Dave did care for all people such as people at his parish, of his region, any stranger, priest, and deacons alike. In my opinion, if the bishop would have one request before his departure from earth, he would say to be there for each other and to love one another. So, ask one another … “HOW CAN I HELP”?
Action of the Day: Look around you today and ask someone “How can I help?
Audio Reflection:
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