Episcopal priest and author Adam Bucko reminds us of the Gospel call to solidarity with the poor, who reveal Christ:
The Christian spiritual tradition is very clear about how we are to relate to those who are fragile, who have been rejected and forgotten, and who are standing on the bread lines waiting for food. We are to see them as Christ and approach them with the same kind of reverence and willingness to say yes. This identification of Christ with the poor is such that an old Anglo-Catholic saying, often cited in the context of the slum priest movement of the 1920s, tells us that unless we are willing and able to see Christ on the highways and byways of our cities in those who are rejected, homeless, and poor, we have no business talking about meeting him in the Eucharist. Our faith cannot be complete unless we have connected the two. As one theologian said, “The real presence of Christ, which is hidden in the bread and wine, is visibly manifested in his social presence in the poor who are the sign and image of his ongoing passion in the world.” [1]
Bucko visited a refugee camp in Greece and draws a parallel between the “Good Shepherd” Jesus and those who act in solidarity with refugees:
In Jesus’s Parable of the Lost Sheep, we meet the Christ who is the good shepherd, who, like the thousands of volunteers who rescued those refugees from the freezing waters of the Mediterranean Sea, is there searching for those who are lost, in need of being wrapped in literal or metaphorical blankets of motherly love. We meet the One who is an open gate, not unlike the gate of that refugee camp, which made the passage to safety and care possible for so many. I love how frankly Matthew’s Gospel puts it:
What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost (Matthew 18:12–14).
Indeed, Christ comes to us not only in prayer, not only in beautiful celebrations like those that we experience in church on the great festivals and holidays, but also in those who are hungry and thirsty for our presence and our love, in those who ask us for help. And, “our attitude towards them, or rather our commitment to them, will indicate whether or not we are directing our existence in conformity with the will of the Father.” [2] They both open the door to God’s house for us and they give us a chance to become the door for others.
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Sarah Young Jesus Listens
Everlasting God, You, the Creator of the universe, are with me and for me. You are all I need! When I feel as if something is lacking, it’s because I’m not connecting with You at a deep level. You offer me abundant Life. Help me respond to Your abundance by receiving Your blessings gratefully—trusting in Your provision and refusing to worry about anything. I’m learning that it’s not primarily the adverse events in my world that make me anxious; the main culprit is my thoughts about those events. When something troubles me, my mind starts working strenuously to take control of the situation—striving to bring about the result I desire. My thoughts close in on the problem like ravenous wolves. Determined to make things go my way, I forget that You are in charge of my life. At such times, I desperately need to switch my focus from the problem to Your Presence. Teach me how to stop my anxious striving and wait for You—watching in hope to see what You will do. You are God my Savior! In Your redeeming Name, Jesus, Amen
ISAIAH 41:10 NLT; Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.
ROMANS 8:31–32; What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
JOHN 10:10 ESV; The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
MICAH 7:7; But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me
Young, Sarah. Jesus Listens (p. 198). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
