Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17 / 1 Cor 15:20-26, 28 / Matthew 25:31-46
One of the things that can be said about food is that everyone likes to eat but not everyone likes to cook.
One of the reasons is that it may just take 3 minutes to eat something but 30 minutes to cook it.
Of course, the exception is instant noodles. But if we were to take 30 minutes to cook instant noodles, then we need to go back to basic cooking class, and start to learn how to boil water first.
But if we are the type who like to cook and think that we can cook quite well, then we need to watch the people who are eating the food that we cooked.
If they have to say “Grace before meals” before eating, and then they have to say “Grace after meals” after eating, then we will know what our cooking tastes like.
But seriously. If we think we can cook, and can cook quite well, then we may want to compete with those stalls at the hawker centres.
Hawker food may be considered as some kind of staple food, often sold and eaten in a practical but not necessarily a comfortable environment, and affordable to the pocket of the ordinary man in the street.
Being a hawker may not be considered a high status, and also requires long hours of hard work.
Obviously it is a sweaty job, and we have to make sure that the sweat doesn’t go into the cooking and the food.
But a few days ago, the humble hawker culture was in the news, as it was sent in as an application to be inscribed in the official UNESCO intangible cultural heritage, with a recommendation by an expert body.
So there is a high chance for the Singapore hawker culture to be recognized internationally.
Where once the hawker culture is seen as lowly and often taken for granted, it is now looked upon as a national heritage, a lifestyle and a shared experience among Singaporeans.
Although not glamorous in cooking or dining styles, hawker food is comfort food for the hungry tummy.
Today as the Church celebrates the feast of Christ the King, the gospel reminds us of the poor and lowly and needy.
The Feast of Christ the King is not about pomp and ceremony but about simplicity and humility.
In the gospel parable, Jesus looks at the simple and humble deeds like feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and those in prison.
Those are not specifically religious and pious deeds. In fact, they are more like ordinary and mundane.
But in the gospel parable, the king highlights these deeds as important and even essential in this life, as well as for entry into eternal life.
These simple and humble deeds point out once again that spiritual saying, and that is, doing little things with great love.
It also points out the existence and importance of the poor, which is obvious but often overlooked and left aside.
And just like how the hawker culture is raised to prominence, Jesus our King, tells us to love the poor and how to serve them, for the poor will inherit the kingdom of God.
And like how Pope Francis said it, the poor will guarantee our eternal income. That is his way of saying it, but we get the image.
Yes, the poor will be the ones who will tell Jesus Christ our King about the people who have helped them on earth to go through life in spite of their difficulties and poverty.
So, we are reminded to treat the poor with respect and with love.
Jesus wants us to do that, because when it comes to loving our neighbour, the poor is the first on the list.
Yes, let us love and serve the poor, for in the Kingdom of Heaven, the poor will be cooking for us the feast of the eternal banquet. And what a joyful feast it will be.