The Deserving & Undeserving
Monday of the First Week of Lent
Matthew 25:31-46
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022326.cfm
In today’s gospel, Jesus reiterates the same message four times. The summation of his message is that God is present in those who are marginalized by society and that it is paramount for our salvation to help them. He gave examples of the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the ill, and the imprisoned. He said that he’s present with all of these people. Jesus did not add additional qualifiers for this either. Jesus does not say that he’s only present to those who abide by the commandments, or that he’s only there for those who did not waste their resources, or that he’s only there for a particular group of people, or that he’s only present to those of a particular faith or who live by a particular purity code, or that the only people who need assistance for their illness are those who took care of their bodies to the best of their abilities, or that we should only help prisoners who are innocent. Jesus could have added these modifiers instead of reiterating the same message four different ways. In today’s gospel, he says that whatever you do or don’t do for them, you do or don’t do for him as well. Jesus’s message is that we can find God within those in need and that no one should be abandoned or left out.
And yet, we are always qualifying those that are deserving or not deserving. Especially in times of polarization, it’s easy to point to who is deserving and not deserving depending on how they’re affiliated with our group or how our group represents them. Jesus is calling us to transcend all of this. Jesus takes it back to his two commandments, love of God and love of neighbor. In this gospel, Jesus shows that they’re practically one and the same.
This framework can be seen through other scripture and within other parables of Jesus as well. One example of this is in the story of Joseph and his brothers. Long after his brothers gave him over to be a slave, they came to him when they and their people were starving. Instead of turning them away, Joseph shares with them what he and the Egyptians have been able to stockpile. God wants us to live by such grace, thus this message is throughout scripture and more pronounced within the gospels.
What we do for the marginalized in our society is the same as what we do for God. Salvation isn’t something we earn, it’s something that is given to us by God. And salvation isn’t merely granted by belief alone. Faith is not strictly belief if we are to take this gospel seriously. Faith is always carried out in action and in how we live our life. Jesus doesn’t even take people's faith traditions or religious belief systems into consideration within this gospel but focuses on people’s action to others.
I don’t believe God is keeping score, but God does know who and who is not there for others in need. We are always given the opportunity to convert to this way of thinking. Our salvation is found in how we give and take care of each other as it’s a reflection of our relationship with God. We can lose ourselves in debates on who is truly in need and who is not, but God does not do this. Jesus says that we should be there for those in need. It’s far more simple than trying to figure out who is truly deserving and who is not.
