Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17 / 1 Cor 15:20-26, 28 / Matthew 25:31-46
The world that we live in operates on a logical and mathematical level.
Almost everything is squarely and neatly balanced off, maybe because we like things to be neat and tidy.
So, if we are at a drink dispensing machine, each drink has a price. We choose the drink, pay the money, and the drink is dispensed.
That is all fair and square, that is also expected of the transaction.
But, when we choose a drink, pay the money and the drink is not dispensed, then something has gone wrong.
Whatever the problem may be, the logical and mathematical process is disrupted. And of course we get frustrated.
In our world where efficiency and productivity are highly priced, there is little tolerance for disruption and malfunction.
Things need to be fair and square, as well as neat and tidy.
It also means that the more we do, the more we should get in return.
In other words, the higher the investment, the greater should be the return.
And the returns are not just in terms of the tangible. The returns should also be intangible, like gaining attention.
So, when something big or great is done, it should be announced, and maybe even trumpeted, for everyone to know.
That is how the world operates, that is how the world moves, and that is also how we are influenced.
But in the gospel, Jesus tells us something that is quite different.
Jesus tells us that the humble and ordinary deeds are important. In fact, they have an eternal consequence.
It is deeds like feeding the hungry, quenching the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked and visiting the sick.
These are so plain and ordinary, that they won't make it to the headlines or get the spotlight.
In all this, Jesus is telling us that He cares for the poor and the lowly, He cares for the helpless and the needy.
Jesus not only cares for them, He tells us that He is among them, that He is in them.
Hence, His profound teaching is this: In so far as you did it to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me.
That divine teaching breaks our concept of fair and square, as well as the world's orientation towards efficiency and productivity.
Jesus is telling us that our little deeds of service and charity may not be noticed by the world, but He sees it.
We may think that there is nothing to gain from doing what is humble and lowly.
We may think that only those who are deserving would be rewarded, while those who don't meet expectations will have to be left on their own.
But Jesus tells us that those who need our help are those who have no one to help them.
If they are not voicing out their need for help, it could be because they have become oblivious in a world that pays attention to the glamorous.
But Jesus tells us that there are the poor and the lowly, there are those who are helpless and needy.
And what is astounding is that Jesus tells us that He is among them, that He is in them.
May those five words “you did it to me”, keep ringing in our ears.
Those are the words of the King of kings, the King of the universe.
Our eternal future is shaped when we listen to our King, and do what He tells us.