The Face of God
“Then the King shall say to those who will be on his right: 'Come, you blessed of my Father. Possess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in; naked, and you covered me; sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me.' Then the just will answer him, saying: 'Lord, when have we see you hungry, and fed you; thirsty, and given you drink? And when have we seen you a stranger, and taken you in? Or naked, and covered you? Or when did we see you sick, or in prison, and visit to you?' And in response, the King shall say to them, 'Amen I say to you, whenever you did this for one of these, the least of my brothers, you did it for me.'”
Matthew 25:34-40 CPDV
https://www.bible.com/42/mat.25.34-40.cpdv
Our church at Saint Philip Neri is alive. There are opportunities to serve others in ways that God calls us. The homeless ministry is specially one that called for me to serve. Today is the first day that I will be there amongst the faithful providing meals and necessities to the many homeless people in our county. I feel sad that the richest country in the world could have so many people hungry, without a home to lay their head safely at night, and without the company of people who love them.
When others see this kind of human suffering, they ask why God should allow such suffering to occur. There are questions that only God knows the answer to and there are answers we know and that God provided us because of who He is.
From His words alone, we know that God is faithful and He is good. In the midst of great suffering, we can be assured that God is in control and He will never leave us. Did He not say that He will look out even for the one sheep lost among the ninety nine?
It is not for me to question why people suffer but that God is always there. He will never forsake or abandon us. What He called us to do is to continue to work on His behalf, to reach out to our brothers and sisters in pain and do what we can. We are the hands and feet by which God works His mercy, compassion, and love, if we allow Him to use us according to His purpose.
Let us pray that our lives become the conduit of spiritual graces and blessings not only among our family and friends but also people whom we do not know personally. Then and only then can we claim we have truly seen the face of God.