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by Duy Duc
Matthew 25:31-46
hen the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
This year, I returned to Viet Nam to visit for the first time since I boarded the Viet Nam Airlines plane headed for Bangkok and subsequently for America over fifteen years ago. Having left as a young boy, there were few things I could remember about the country, especially the poverty that plagued every corner of Vietnamese society. Everywhere I went, I was approached and followed by poor people asking for handouts. There was no limit in age. Little kids who should have been in school were not and grandmothers who were supposed to be resting in their old age were not. Instead, they spent their time following people like me pleading and hoping for kindness.
It was difficult to deal with the situation. In the United States, I had come in contact with homeless people countless times. But they were often African Americans or Caucasians. I could learn to ignore them and justify to myself that this was the land of opportunity and they should find themselves a job instead of living on the street. But here in Vietnam, the people who begged me oftentimes had no other means for survival. And I knew it. Of course, there were those who pretended to be poor to take advantage of people's kindess. But I believe that these people were really the minority and the poverty situation in Viet Nam was undoubtedly real.
It was a new experience for me because these people were begging to me in my own native language. They looked like my little brothers and sisters. They could be my uncle or aunt. It was emotionally distressing to say the least because the distance between the poor and myself was reduced by my own cultural background. Sometimes, I did my best to ignore the appeals and was successful at it. Other times, I became angry because I could not finish a meal in peace. But a lot of the times, I was suffering and struggling with guilt.
Over and over again, the passage in Matthew's gospel came to mind. I saw myself standing at the side of Jesus and He tells me, "I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was naked, and you did not clothe Me." These were unpleasant thoughts, and many times, they were effective in motivating me to open my wallet. That made me feel better about myself.
Now, back in the United States, I have spent much time reflecting on all the things that happened to me in Viet Nam, especially my experience with the poor. In many ways, I feel unhappy about how I behaved and how I squandered numerous opportunities to exercise true charity towards others. Although I was often generous with the poor, I was hardly the model of sympathy and compassion, essential elements of true charity.
As Matthew' s gospel was instrumental in my actions in Viet Nam, I have decided to take a second look at this reading. I believe that in many ways, my action resulted from an incomplete understanding of Matthew's gospel. In this passage, on the day of judgment people were divided into two sides. The ones on the right side were the "good" people who did kind things for others. On the left side, however, stood those who were selfish and ignorant of others' needs.
Usually when we read this passage, we are inclined to look at ourselves in light of these two sides. If we have been rather selfish and self-indulgent, we may identify with those on the left. As good people, we strive to improve so that we deserve a place on the right. Our main motivation may be because we do not want to suffer the consequences of those on the left. Fear is indeed a powerful motivation for doing good. Nevertheless, as I reflect on this gospel passage in context of my experience, I have come to look at it in a different way.
I think one of the aspects of this gospel passage that people often overlook is the "third group" of individuals. They are the people who Jesus says are in need of food, drink, clothes, and care. They are the people we see driving through poor neighborhoods, in crowded cities, and the ones who followed me on the streets of Viet Nam. Why are these people important? They are important because it is with these people that Jesus identifies himself. Jesus doesn't see Himself belonging to the group on the left or on the right but with the people who are poor and marginalized. As He says, "Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me."
It is important that we begin to identify ourselves with the poor for when we do, we find that we too are people in need of food, clothes, and care. We find that we too are in need of emotional and spiritual support. We find that we too are in need of forgiveness for our mistakes and sympathy for our inadequacies. And most importantly, when we identify ourselves with the poor, we find that we are on the same side as Jesus. It is in the poor that we find Jesus, and it is in the poor part of ourselves that Jesus resides.
I believe that looking at ourselves from a different perspective will profoundly affect how we view others. Thus, when I am walking on the street of Saigon, and I am approached by a beggar, I will be less likely to look at him with scorn and cynicism. Instead, I can treat him with sympathy and compassion. If I hand him some money, I won't do so with arrogance but with true charity. And if I cannot afford to give him money, I won't say mean and rude things to get him to go away. Instead, I refuse with kind words so that he may retain his human dignity. Our true compassion will come about as a result of recognizing that the poor and the marginalized are not just people out there whom we have to help to get to heaven. On the contrary, they are extensions of ourselves and are representations of our own poverty, whether emotional, spiritual, or material.
In conclusion, I believe that Matthew's gospel passage is telling us where we need to be. Not only must we strive to be on the right side, we must also be on the side of the poor. Being on these two sides mean that we are not only active in helping to improve the lives of the poor, whether they be Vietnamese or American, men or women, children or adults, but we see ourselves as truly poor. So that in the end, when we are helping the poor, we are in fact, helping none other but ourselves. |