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A slightly edited version of this article was published in the February/March 2006 issue of

The Catholic Radical (Worcester, Mass. USA)

Works of mercy: caring for the hidden Christ

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave medrink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and

you cared for me, in prison and you visited me. (Mt 25:35 - 36)

With these words, in the teaching called the judgment of the nations, Jesus

commends to his disciples the practice of the works of mercy (Catechism of the

Catholic Church 2447). What should astonish and even challenge the Christian inthis Gospel is that our Lord and God says that in caring for the needs of the least,we are caring for Christ himself. (Mt 25:40)

Imagine having the privilege of spending time with the King of Kings and Lordof Lords; and what is more, of being in a position to do something for him. Howwould we act if we met Jesus Christ in this way? We would consider such ameeting a gift beyond compare. We would wish to spend as much time with him

as we could. We would treat him with all the honor and dignity we could muster.

What Jesus says to his disciplesis that indeed we are spending time with him whenwe help those who are hungry or imprisoned. In serving the sick or the lonely, we

serve the hidden Christ. This difficult truth has concrete implications for us asdisciples. Sadly, the secular world has blinded many Christians to the truth and tothe opportunity found in the judgment of the nations. Many Christians havecome to believe that simply donating money to a charity or institution is service.

Many Christians have left the works of mercy to formal, funded, bureaucratized,and organized service agencies. Christ said that those who fed him, cared for him,welcomed him, nursed him, would receive eternal life. These are intrinsically

personal acts.

I do not mean to belittle the donation of money to charities, or to judge those whovolunteer in nursing homes or prisons. (Almsgiving for example is obviouslycommendable, though more likely because it is a sacrifice rather than a work ofmercy.) I also do not discount how even our most humble or imperfect efforts can

mean so much to another person. But if we take Jesus at his word, that serving the

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lowly and needy is serving him, would we only write a check to a homelessshelter to help the hidden Christ? Would we just impersonally give out food,

clothes or medicine as part of a group of workers or volunteers, without everspending time with or possibly even seeing someone in need, one-to-one? Christurges us to go deeper. Jesus invites us, through our service to others, to a more

profound personal relationship with him. We certainly know this about our own

relationships: they require our personal engagement.

The Gospel invitation in Matthew 25 calls us to seek out opportunities to spendtime with Christ in need, caring for him. We are to try to get to know him as best

we can, and to open ourselves to him. We should long to be with him rather thansee it as an onerous chore. We should offer Jesus in the poor the best we can.When it grows difficult serving someone in need, we should strive to remember

the promise of eternal life made by Christ (Mt 25:34), and who it is that we trulyare serving. If we do not even see the Gospel ideal which disciples are called tostrive towards, but only the largely impersonal practices of the secular world, thenwe will not be using wisely the talents which Christ gives to us.

For the Christian disciple, to serve others is at its heart a personal act. To meetChrist in the lowly is to honor the dignity of the needy, and to take personalresponsibility. This cannot be done by just signing a check. It is hard to do as avolunteer who remains at arms length from the sick or imprisoned. It takes time

and personal involvement. Like so many acts in the Christian life, it ofteninvolves carrying the Cross (Mk 8:34). As Peter Maurin, cofounder of theCatholic Worker, wrote: because the poor were fed, clothed and sheltered at a

personal sacrifice, the pagans used to say about the Christians See how they loveeach other. In our own day ... the pagans say about the Christians See how they

pass the buck.

Christ the King, 2005

Marc Tumeinski

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