A Cup Of Water

 

Matthew 25:31-46 (SV)

"When the Son of Adam comes in his glory, accompanied by all his messengers, then he will occupy his glorious throne. Then all peoples will be assembled before him, and he will separate them into groups, much as a shepherd segregates sheep from goats. He'll place the sheep to his right and the goats to his left. Then the king will say to those at his right, 'Come, you who have the blessing of my Father, inherit the domain prepared for you from the foundations of the world. You may remember, I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a foreigner and you showed me hospitality; I was naked and you clothed me; I was ill and you visited me; I was in prison and you came to see me.' Then the virtuous will say to him, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and fed you or thirsty and gave you drink? When did we notice that you were a foreigner and extend hospitality to you? Or naked and clothe you? When did we find you ill or in prison and come to visit you?

And the king will respond to them, 'I swear to you, whatever you did for the most inconspicuous members of my family, you did for me as well.'

Next, he will say to those on his left, 'You, condemned to the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his messengers, get away from me! You too may remember, I was hungry and you didn't give me amything to eat; I was thirsty and you refused me a drink; I was a foreigner and you failed to extend hospitality to me; naked and you didn't clothe me; ill and in prison and you didn't visit me.'

Then they will give him a similar reply: 'Lord, when did we notice that you were hungry or thirsty or a foreigner or naked or weak or in prison, and did not attempt to help you?'

He will then respond: 'I swear to you, whever you didn't do for the most inconspicuous members of my family, you didn't do for me.'

The second group will then head for everlasting punishment, but the virtuous for everlasting life.

Whenever I preached on this passage I emphasized that this parable was about how easy it is to be among the virtuous. All you have to do is give someone some clothes; a cup of water; help the foreigner or visit prisoners.*

We all know nursing homes can be bad places if no one is visiting frequently. But prisons? Well, we figure they deserve it, right? What would happen if we paid attention?

*Or maybe just support prison programs. I watched a 30 minute Netflix documentary on a program in a Missouri maximum security prison. A small group of prisoners there make quilts from donated fabrics, which are then given to foster children in the area. It is as decent, humane, and heartwarming as you can imagine. These men take great pride in their work, each designing a quilt themselves and making sure it is done right before they let it go. As I said, the fabrics they use are donated. There are probably opportunities like that around you, if you just look for them. Consider it a cup of water.