“For 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, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”-Matthew 25:35-36

There was an ancient Chinese emperor who commissioned an artist in his court to draw a picture of a rooster. The artist told him that he would need a long time to do it. He needed to understand the nature of the animal before he expressed it on paper. A year passed and the emperor reminded the artist of his request. The artist responded that he studied the rooster and was only now beginning to get past its superficial nature but he still needed much time to penetrate into its depth. This interaction went on for several years. Finally, after ten years, the artist produced a painting of the rooster and it opened the world for the emperor beyond the animal. It brought the emperor in contact with the very Creator of all things. *

The emperor was a wise man who trusted the artist in what he was doing. The artist was a saintly man who knew that even something so common as a rooster possesses something deeper than what the eye can see. Most of us present here need help to be wise and saintly. The gospel reading above is the help that Jesus provides us. He is showing us how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ or in other words, the salvation of Christ. Salvation, after all, is God’s love. We cannot reduce it to a mere pass to escape hell. It is a journey in discovering the richness of God’s love for all humanity.

The Hungry, The Thirsty, The Naked, The Strangers or Abandoned, and the Imprisoned are the ones Jesus calls us to contemplate. A superficial approach would be to think that God is calling us to do charitable works. This is a tendency of human beings, perhaps as modern people. We want to have instant solutions. We read this text and think by dedicating one day a week to some philanthropic work, then we have paid our dues. We would have secured our place among the sheep. I hope that I don’t offend anyone here by saying this. There might someone here who volunteers to do some philanthropic work. There is nothing wrong with doing this. However, Jesus is calling us to do something deeper. He is asking us to see beyond the social status of these little ones. God is calling us to contemplate their very essence to the point that the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to see Jesus manifested in a powerful way. If we are patient and wise, we will be able to penetrate through the superficial and see the essence of the person whom God has put in our lives. We will be able to see Jesus. Not because the person who suffers all these predicaments is saintly. It doesn’t take long for us to discover that they are not saintly. Usually our first contact will suffice.

The Acts of the Apostles tell us that the Holy Spirit was poured on all peoples. This event changes the way we understand salvation in this world. It means that the Spirit of Jesus is present in all peoples. However, not everyone recognizes the tender presence of the Lord in their lives. As Christians, it is our task to seek His face in those who are hungry, thirsty, naked, sick or imprisoned. It doesn’t happen instantly. It happens in God’s time which means it takes a long time before we can see His face clearly.
Why just these people and not others? Well, the meaning of salvation is healing. Jesus told us that it is the sick that need healing and not those who perceive themselves to be well. However, when we begin to reflect and seek the face of Jesus in these little ones, we will discover that we too need healing.

Some people say that we should not have favorites when dealing with children. They are right. Nevertheless, we have our favorite. His name is Daniel. We have known him since he was ten and he will turn 17 this year. He and his brother came to the streets together and they have been sleeping there ever since. Not too long ago, a tragic incident in the streets left all of us distraught and little lost. The day after this incident, Daniel approached us. He was a little bit more pensive than usual. He asked me if we thought that he was a good person. I told him that we never doubted it. He wasn’t convinced. He wanted to know how we can think this of him when obviously everyone in society thinks other wise.

Daniel wanted us to paint a picture of him. After all, we have many years to contemplate on our subject. His goodness is seen in the little he does for those around him. He is always there to bring joy to those who mourn. He is always there to give comfort to those who feel lonely and lost. He always sees the best in others. One day, he even acknowledged the source of his personal goodness. He told a lady who accused him of stealing something that he would never do such a thing because God dwells in His heart. This was the picture I presented to Daniel. He sensed that it wasn’t a superficial representation because we noticed these things that he did without thinking about it. They came naturally to him. He asked for my prayers and he wanted God to forgive his sins and continue to guide him.

Daniel has brought much healing in our lives and also to those who read about our artistic presentation of him in our blogs. We couldn’t have given a genuine picture of Daniel to him if we did not know who or what to look for in him. Thankfully, Jesus showed us a way. He pointed out that He is always present in these little ones and our salvation lies in discovering His living presence in them.

Salvation is not a ticket out of condemnation. It is about changing the way we see the world. In a concrete way, it opens our world. It helps us discover the Creator of all beings present in everyone. However, Jesus seems to have a preference in manifesting Himself in those who considered unworthy in our society. As Christians, we are called to paint the picture of Jesus in the lives of these little ones. However, it takes time. We have been going to the streets almost daily for more than six years. We can safely say that we are now able to have a glimpse beyond the superficial. Hopefully, we will be able go deeper soon. One day, we will paint a picture that will help us all to see the salvation of our Lord manifested in the lives of the children and teens we call friends in the streets.

* I read this parable in sermon by Paul Tillich titled,”Nature Mourns for a Lost Good.”