Meditation

Read Matthew 25:35-40 —Matthew 25:35 (NIV)

I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.

During WWII many people in the U.S. lacked the basics of life—food and shelter—just as many do today. On this particular rainy winter day in south Louisiana in 1944, I spotted a man crossing our neighbor’s backyard. He was disheveled, and he approached our back door holding something in his hands. I ran to tell my grandmother, who was in the kitchen cooking. As she opened the door, we saw he was holding a large portion of ground meat. He looked up at us with an expression of desperation I’ll never forget and said, “Lady, would you cook this meat for me?”

My grandmother said, “Come in out of the cold, and I will do that for you.” As I watched, she prepared the meat, added other food from the family dinner she was cooking and served the stranger at our kitchen table. While he hungrily ate the hot food, we hung his wet coat over the gas fireplace to dry. Soon he was on his way.

If we are alert to the needs of others, each of us can prepare to respond to the stranger at the door as if that stranger were Jesus.

Prayer—Dear God, give us the compassion to open our eyes, our hearts, and our doors to others. Amen.

Thought for the Day—The next time I see someone in need, I will serve Christ by offering help.

Charles E. Shea (Texas)