It's all about connecting

As I read today's Gospel reading I had this flash of memory from when I was a young boy, singing with everyone else at Sunday Mass 'Whatsoever You Do'. Remember that song – 'whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me'? It was sung slowly and solemnly; it was almost sad.

Well, I had four brothers, but I knew the song wasn't really talking about them. It was about Jesus telling people that whatever they did to those in need, they did to him. I didn't really get it though. You see, we never really reached out and helped those in need; at least, not that I can remember. Part of that, I think, was due to our German-American farming community – people just didn't ask for help like that. It seems like we all just sucked it up, put on our stoic faces, and plodded on.

When I got married, my in-laws' tradition didn't do much to contribute to the 'whatsoever you do' idea. For them, faith saved, not works. The whole focus was on finding that faith; serving others got all tangled up with the whole 'faith vs. works' thing that it seemed so prevalent in the Pentecostal movement those days.

But still, this Gospel reading from Matthew always seemed to speak to me when I heard it, even if I didn't translate it into action:

Then the virtuous will say to him in reply, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you; or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and make you welcome; naked and clothe you; sick or in prison and go to see you?” And the King will answer, “I tell you solemnly, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me.”

We had a neighbor two doors down in Tulsa – Mayme. She was widowed, without children, and probably in her late seventies, but spunky and as independent as she could be. That independence was evaporating, slowly at first and then rapidly. I remember offering to mow her lawn whenever I mowed mine, because I could see she was having a tough time. She offered to pay me, but I assured her it was no problem. More than keeping the lawn mowed, I think she just enjoyed the attention and conversation.

Over the next few years Mayme became more frail, and my wife and I became her good friends. She no longer drove, so we helped her with shopping. I did small repairs on her house, and my wife helped her out in the house. Mayme was really saddened when PJ died – her beloved Cocker Spaniel. About the same time as her health took a turn for the worse, we shared with her that we were expecting our first child. That was a very bright spot in her life; our joy was reflected through her smiles. I remember opening the front door for her for one of the baby showers, and remarking how good she looked – all dressed up, and with make-up on! Soon after that, Mayme entered a nursing home – on a temporary basis, she assured us.

The day after Nicholas was born, Mayme died alone at the nursing home. She had no family or friends in town, the closest relatives were hundreds of miles away. It was quite a mix of emotions – the birth of our son and the death of a good friend all at once.

Looking back at that now, I think I can see what Jesus was getting at – 'whatever you do to the least of these, you do to me'. The smiles, laughter, struggles, pain and hope that we shared with Mayme on a literal, physical level are one thing, but there's more to it that that. Those experiences – real live, interactive human experiences – helped us get in touch with, get closer to, the source of life in us both. And that source of life is Jesus. Serving others, being in solidarity with those in need, is a way to nurture our relationship with Jesus.

You don't nurture that relationship by giving money to the poor, by voting for change, or lobbying for this or that. Those can all be good things that God calls us to do, but there's more. Connecting with and serving people in need is, I think, what Jesus is calling us to do through this Gospel story. As we do that and make those connections, we get to know Jesus.

Comments

[ms]

i guess it depends on how you define conneecting, but i am reminded of the saying (not sure the source) that faith without works is dead. Connect all you want to accomplish nothing; instead we all need to get off our butts and DO somerthing about the problems and issues surrounding and affecting us all. After teh hurricane we were hurting for a while but nothing major - no power 9/13 to 9/30 but we had a generator and a gas stove so we could cook and have a fan and listen (if we chose) to the non-stop infotainment that passed for news. Everyday through the 30th we spent hours in line for gas for the generator. The first 3-4 days we'd had a cool frnt so not that bad with temps in the 70s and 80s but hten it got hot. One day the Salvation Army drove up nad parked at the gas station and this lady with a big smile came walking down the line of cars with hot food and cold water. It was back to the mid-90s with increasing humidity and to save ags we kept hte air off and turned off the car in between moving up in line. I couldn't accept a hot meal (we had plenty to eat at home and needed to cook and share so it wouldn't go bad) but boy, was that water soooooooo good! I never thought I would be in a position to "need" (and really I could have waited til we got to our turn in line and gotten a water at the store) but it sure was nice. Have I everdone anything half so nice for anyone? Probably not. And there is no reason or explanation I can gve for being such a self-centered, narow-minded person except laziness -- the opportunity never really presented itself but then again I never put myself in position to be able to meet others' needs. So what will I do differently? Setp one, get off my butt and DO.....

[+ Alan]

I need to allow Him to remind me of this more and more. Thanks for helping Steve. And I do remember that song. :)

[Victor]

I always enjoy it when you share some of your life's experience with me, I mean us.

Without getting into details.... I hear ya! Thank you sinner vic.

Anyway from my experience I believe that as long as our heart truly believes in Jesus The Christ and our mind co-operates, we can take all the time we need or want because God will never abandoned any of His Children. A zillion years is but a moment for Our Heavenly Father.

I hear ya Steve! To be honest with you Victor, you missed that one and this one....

Ok! Don't rub "IT" in, I get the picture! :)

Who's laughing? (lol!?)

God Bless,

Peace

[jim]

Beautiful story, Steve; and much the way I view the whole faith vs works agenda. It's the voice of God within me, whether it speaks to world conditions or the widow next door. It's in a day-by-day living more so than an occasional feeding the poor. You and yours have a great holiday...........

[Philip]

Hi
I found your blog today while doing a search on Ken Overberg for another "e- conversation"
I've been in. I was surprised to discover that we are fellow parishioners. In fact, I believe we often sit near each other. But I haven't been to 11:00 liturgy regularly lately; getting to 9:00 from time time.
I'm sure we've seen each other( I use a rolling walker to maneuver around and frequently sit behind the Luebrings and Rosemary). I have bookmarked the site and will check back from time to time. Have a spirit filled Advent. Philip

[Carol]

Excellent points, Steve.