PHOTOS: Mary van Balen For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you made me welcome; naked and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me.…And the King will answer, I tell you solemnly, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these, you did it to me.
Gospel Mt 25, 35-6; 40
This morning I craved something warm for breakfast along with morning tea.
“Too bad the waffle iron is gone,” I thought, almost able to taste the crunchy sweetness of the well-done pastry drizzled with maple syrup. I looked through the pantry for biscuit mix, the refrigerator for something to warm up. Nothing.
With resolve, I pulled the old stainless steel mixing bowl out of the cupboard below the counter and began to assemble ingredients for biscuits. They are not difficult to make: a little flour, salt, leavening, milk, and sugar tossed together then kneaded and patted into a soft pad of dough.
Ten minutes later, brown crusty biscuits easily broke apart revealing a fluffy white center begging for a drip of honey or smear of butter. Besides satisfying my craving, they filled the kitchen with the warm smell of “someone is home.”
Joy is often not found in complicated plans and labor intensive projects. Sometimes it comes with simplicity: warm biscuits, conversations with a friend, birdsong heard while taking out the trash, the earth sinking beneath one’s step after a spring thaw.
Today’s readings reminded me of simplicity. God’s precepts are not complicated. No intricate theological arguments or reasoning needed: Love God. Love you neighbor. Do good. Share what you have been given.
All today’s readings point to that truth. God does not desire fancy sacrifices, but rather reverence of one another and creation. We are not required to travel to earth’s ends or even the next city, but to show mercy and justice to our neighbors and those who are struggling.
Images of anguish from Japan played in my head as I munched my breakfast. I cannot share biscuits, but in today’s world, response that can send food and water to those suffering from the earthquake and tsunami is a click of a “donate” button away.
Caring for those closer to home requires time and human touch to mediate God’s love and concern.
Whatever we do to the least among us…
Holy One, help me embrace a way of life centered around your simple but profound truth: Love you neighbor and you love Me.
The precepts of the Lord are right,
they gladden the heart.
The command of the Lord is clear,
it gives light to the eyes.
Responsorial Psalm 18,9
© 2011 Mary van Balen
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