Mercy

“I was hungry and you did not feed me, I was thirsty and you did not give me anything to drink, I was a stranger and you did not take me in, I was naked and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit me…”

Feed the hungry. There were instances when we do not like the food served to us. We even throw some of them away since they are in excess. We prepare banquets during special occasions and leave the leftovers to the dogs. We often forget that there are people who do not have anything to eat. It is not our mistakes right, but it is our faith that binds us as one. We have to understand that if we do not share some of the food we have, we are actually turning our back to the least of our brethren. What would Jesus do if he have lots of food?

Give drink to the thirsty. It is not just water that the people around us thirst for. Most of the time, its is affection, affirmation and friendship. According to Mother Teresa, the greatest poverty is that of being unloved, unwanted and uncared for. Most of the time, we are so busy with our work. We are so immersed with the tasks that we do, We equate the meaning of our lives to the workloads we have. We forget that we work to make a living, to make life meaningful. We seldom see the people who thirst for our smiles and simple nods. We fail to listen to our friends who are suffering from something. We are always busy. What would Jesus do when someone needs to be quenched with his/her thirst?

Shelter the homeless. We adhere to the adage NOT to talk to strangers. We are afraid that they might do something harmful to us. That is correct. But welcoming them in our hearts and allowing people to feel that they are AT HOME is an easy thing. We might not have the big houses to shelter people but our hearts are wide enough to accommodate them. By allowing them to feel that they are like family members, we make the strangers feel good. This feeling will have a ripple effect to others. When Jesus was approached by strangers who needed to be healed, he embraced them like family members.

Clothe the naked. Try to look at your closets. We have enough clothes to last for years. But we often crave to have more. We head to the nearest ukay-ukay to acquire more clothing. What for? We see people who are clad with things similar to those we make as floor mats. We often submit to our needs to buy signature clothes for the sake of the brands not for the purpose…By allowing others, especially the kids to be clothed well through our generosity, we are able to share our blessings and allow them to do the same. What would Jesus do we he have lots of clothing?

Visit the sick and the imprisoned. Do you remember the times when you got sick? You were so helpless and lonely. When people visited you, it became an imprint in your memory you often remember the persons who were there for you. In times of loneliness, our mere presence heals. There are those who are bedridden yet we got so busy remembering them. There are even children whose parents are sick yet do not visit them. They often justify their absence of being busy. Yet, if we go deeper, it is the incapacity to serve as the main reason. We are sometimes engrossed with our selfishness to the point that visiting the sick and the imprisoned do not matter. These seem to be insignificant since we like living the life we define it to be. But what would Jesus do even if he is busy? Would he visit them?

Our lives are fleeting. We do not know when is our last breath. We find the meaning of our existence and most of the time, we equate this to material things. We are so busy looking for money to be able to acquire things. We want to have lots of resources to be able to travel and be at par with the rich. We could not look beyond ourselves since we are feeding the unmet needs we have. We are driven by FEAR. We are afraid not to be recognized and appreciated that we have to look good and achieve. We fear to be left behind that we also put on masks showing that we are successful. We are afraid that our friends are better than us, that is why we indirectly publish our own achievements…

But in the end, would all these matter? What did Jesus do when he was here?