These verses from the book of Matthew give us a fairly
explicit idea of how God commands us to treat each other, with particular emphasis on
those who are suffering.
When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all
the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. .
.
Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you
who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since
the creation of the world. 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.’
Then the righteous will answer
him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something
to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and
clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit
you?’
The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you
did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
"
Clearly, when a population
of people is suffering, for whatever reason, whether it be a natural disaster such as
the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, or a less dramatic, but nonetheless unhappy
suffering of homeless or hungry in America (or anywhere), it is pretty clear that if we
serve the suffering, we are also serving God. Conversely, if we do not serve those who
need it most, we are doing no less than turning our backs on God as we turn our backs on
them.
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