“‘For I was hungry and you gave me no food,

I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,

a stranger and you gave me no welcome,

naked and you gave me no clothing,

ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’

Then they will answer and say,

‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty

or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison,

and not minister to your needs?’

He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you,

what you did not do for one of these least ones,

you did not do for me.’”

This parable, along with the account in Acts of the Apostles of Saint Paul’s conversion, are two of the most absolute and radical statements of Jesus. To Jesus’s hearers, they may have been nearly incomprehensible. Through the millennia, they may have lost some of their radical nature, but we do well to consider them anew. Earlier in today’s parable, Jesus states the positive version of the sentiment above, “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.” Likewise, in the Acts of the Apostles, after a light from the sky flashed around Saul (Paul), it states, “He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ He said, ‘Who are you, sir?’ The reply came, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.’” In both of these instances, for the least of the brothers of mine and for those whom Saul has been persecuting, Jesus so closely identifies with them that he calls them himself. Jesus is the hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, ill, and imprisoned. Jesus is his followers whom Saul is persecuting. This identification (we dare say identity or communion) is radical and absolute. 

To his hearers, God was God and dwelt in ineffable light, untouched and unreachable. To Jesus, God was immediately touchable and reachable in the poor, sick, suffering, and imprisoned. God was immediately touchable and reachable in those who believed and followed him, the church. Jesus was (is) the least among us and we ourselves. Let’s unpack this. In the poor, sick, suffering, and imprisoned, Jesus is present. The all powerful God is found in the weakness of humanity. God has chosen, out of love, to dwell with the marginalized and weak. The All Powerful continues, for all eternity, to become vulnerable. God is not domination. God is love. Our normal worldviews and paradigms need a shakeup. Power is most fully expressed in sacrifice. Power is most fully expressed in mercy. Power is most fully expressed in love. All other expressions of power are false, an illusion. They constrict freedom, but love makes us truly free. God has chosen, out of love, to dwell also in us. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit makes us his body. God has chosen, again, to be vulnerable to our faith. He depends upon our assent to act in this world. God works through us as we place our trust in him. This, too, is an act of love. God is not impotent, but his potency is expressed through us, in our yes to God’s will, in our faithful sacrifice of love. Only we are Christ’s body now on earth. 

Jesus call us, his body, to wash the feet of the poor, also his body. Jesus’s example at the last supper was to wash the feet of his disciples. God is the God of foot washing. We, as his body, are footwashers. We wash his feet in the poor. Getting to the top of the pyramid is not the answer. Inverting the pyramid and getting to the bottom is the answer. Jesus Christ is King of the Universe, vulnerable to our yes and vulnerable in the poor. On judgement day, will Jesus know us as sheep or goats?