HOLY WEEK: DAY 2

SCRIPTURE READING - DAY 41


MATTHEW 25:34-36, 40

Then the King will say to those on his
right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for
you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was
a stranger and you welcomed me… 'Truly,
I say to you, as you did it to one of the
least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'
(ESV)


MEDITATION BY Mariah Nix


It had been a while since I’d been able to attend our team’s weekly Wednesday Bible study. The group is comprised of a mix of homeless folks, seminary students, and people living in hotels—all of whom come to eat a free meal at our church. So it was with surprise and joy that I walked in and saw Connie following along intently as someone read the Bible aloud.

Connie had come to the dinners at the church for about a year before I ever spoke to her. She would stand in line for food with her scarf wrapped around her head, sunglasses on, and a withered piece of cardboard held up as a shield between her and whoever might be on the other side. She would sit alone on the floor in a corner behind her cart of possessions.

Gradually, we began to interact. I would go visit her in her spot to ask about her day and she would answer me briefly from behind the cardboard.

Then last year on Good Friday during our church potluck, the doorbell rang and I opened it to find Connie standing ready to come in. She was confused, thinking it to be Wednesday. I invited her in to eat and to worship with us, but she was unsure since this wasn’t the set time when she was “welcome.”
I assured her that we would love her company. So she joined us and sat at my table. Halfway through the meal, she said abruptly, “You know, you must be a real Christian.” I prayed that the small piece of hospitality we were offering would speak to her about the deep love of Christ.

Since that night, Connie has begun to open up—moving from her spot on the floor to a table, setting her cardboard shield down while she eats, befriending a seminary student that comes each week, telling us lots of stories of her life and travels, and giving me plenty of parenting advice. I felt like we had reached new heights a few weeks ago when I saw her join our Bible study.

During Holy Week, we look to Jesus’ death and resurrection, which are the most important events of history, through which Christ made it possible for us to enter into his Kingdom. It is a Kingdom prepared for us before the foundation of the world, where the thirsty are forever given satisfying drink and the strangers are welcomed home. Jesus instructed us to be hungry-feeding, sick-visiting people in the world because that’s the kind of King he is. And, mysteriously, we encounter the presence of our King in the face of the stranger. I look forward to the day when I get to look into the face of my King as he says, “Welcome, for you welcomed me.” And I hope Connie will be there too, gazing into the face of her King, hearing him say, “Welcome.”




REFLECTION


Think of a time recently when you have encountered the presence of your King in the hungry, the stranger, the sick, or the imprisoned.


Is there a stranger who seems just a little too strange, or a sick person who is just a little too sick for your comfort whom you have avoided though God is asking you to welcome them? What steps can you take to welcome them?


What do you look forward to about the moment when the King says to you, “Come, inherit the kingdom prepared for you?”