Jesus' Call To Action

"'For I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me into your house. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to see me… truly, I say to you: whenever you did this to one of the least, of these my brothers, you did it to me.'" - Matthew 25:35-36,40

I start off my morning by watching The Today Show every day. Last week I was caught by surprise when they were talking about how New Yorkers are some of the unhappiest people in the world. While that didn't surprise me, what did surprise me was their solution to the problem… go out and do good deeds for others! Given the way the world is, I expected them to say things like "give yourself a spa day!" or "take out some more 'me' time!," definitely not something like, "donate a quarter anonymously when you see someone's meter about to expire." This small news segment gave me such hope because I realized that even though it seems like the world is so cold, at our heart, we still respond to God's call which tells us that we are only happy and fulfilled when we serve others, not when we only look out for our own interests as the media would have us believe.

These words of Jesus' from the parable in Matthew's gospel were probably what inspired Mother Teresa of Calcutta to do what she did… to treat like royalty the diseased and filthy poor of India with all the love in the world, because in them she saw Jesus. Someone once said to her, "I wouldn't do what you're doing for a million dollars," and she replied, "neither would I." As brothers and sisters of a Lord who came to serve us, each of us has programmed into our souls the desire to help others and do good in the world. With so many needing our help and resources, especially those in Haiti, let's respond to this call to action from Jesus and serve Him by serving those in need. What can you do to serve Jesus?

Today's Prayer:
Father, so many are suffering and You call us to serve them. You have given us not only hands and feet, but the resources to take care of Your people. Show us to love and take of those who need us with the same love You gave Mother Teresa to care for those that nobody else would care for. In Jesus' Name we pray, amen.