Jesus said, “I was sick and you looked after me.” (Matt 25:36 NIV)
What, exactly, does he mean by “looking after”? Is it bringing chicken soup to the young student who has “what’s going around”? Is it sitting, masked, for long hours at the bedside of a loved one who hasn’t long to live? Is it sending flowers to a distant high-school classmate you wish you’d stayed closer to? Is it making a very inconvenient trip all the way back to the pharmacist for a prescription, some Pepto-Bismol, and over-priced GatorAde for the single mom next door?
What about the homesick international student who longs for some real good cookin’? Or the love-sick husband whose heart was broken by the one he’d cherished for years? Or the brilliant professional woman who is sick and tired of being overlooked when promotions are awarded?
And what about the difficult colleague or family member or weird guy on the bus whose minds have been infected by past trauma or a silent childhood illness?
I don’t know. Maybe I’m stretching His words a bit. Maybe I’m searching for drama and sensation when what He meant really was chicken soup, 1-800-FLOWERS, and Pepto-Bismol.
But there are so many ways that we can fall apart – if not physically, then mentally, emotionally, or spiritually. And I am convinced that Jesus was not only speaking about obvious illnesses – the identifiable, quantifiable, and medically treatable – but was challenging us to look at the entire world and all its disease, cracks, faults, weaknesses, and failures.
I think Jesus was telling us to take care of everybody, near and far, whether they have the 24-hour flu or they are trapped in a world of their own, guided by a mind that never lets them be healthy or happy. Whether they live conveniently next door or in a world so foreign to us we can only imagine the grim reality. And perhaps “looking after” is more complex than a trip to Walgreens or an online floral bouquet order… perhaps it’s demonstrating compassion or patience or learning about the unknown, the silent, the hidden sicknesses we try to overlook – or ignore.
Yes, absolutely, I’m taking liberties with the scripture. I am reading Jesus’s words as if I hear Him talking right to me.
Sure. I hear the ever-present voices, quick to point out Biblical contradictions and unanswered questions about controversial and theological conundrums.
But when it comes to the important stuff, the non-negotiables Jesus wanted us to understand? They are simple. Deep and meaningful and not always easy – but clear and simple.
He told us that by caring for each other, we manifest not only His commandment, but His love. And these acts of compassion and kindness will reveal our love for Him as well.
And the world will notice.
May we all pray a blessing of health and peace over the sick during this holy season. And, of course, I pray for you…
Photo by Louis Hansel on Unsplash
Nancy Burton Wolfe 