Ocean Springs Trip

31“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All 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. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34“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. 35For 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, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 37“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40“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.’ 41“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. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I 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.’ 44“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?’ 45“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.’ 46“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” Matthew 25:31-46

A congregation arrived last night with the Matthew 25:31-46 scripture citation on their T-Shirts. All of them had the Scripture silk screened on their bright red T-Shirts. Ironically, that was also the Gospel Text for Sunday. Someone in the kitchen asked me what that text was about on Saturday night, and I looked it up and said something like, “angels in the throne room, yada yada, sheeps and goats, yada yada, oh, that’s the text about ‘when you did this to the least of these you did it to me.’” They replied that they were familiar with the text, and that it was pretty appropriate.

Then, I went to church on Sunday. I wasn’t expecting what happened to me there.

As the Interim Pastor read the Good News, the things Jesus said pounded me and my Spirit like waves on the seashore.

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,

Jesus talked about this three different times in this passage. It kept driving into me. I couldn’t stop crying.

I kept seeing the people that I had seen this week. People who were hungry for food. People who were hungry for love. People who were hungry for someone to hear their story, and maybe verify that they weren’t crazy. People asking for someone to give them something to drink. We gave one women three cases of bottled water because she had a skin condition and needed extra water—it was what she used to bathe in. One woman came and asked for woman’s pants, because her sister didn’t have any clothes, just three shirts that fit her but only one pair of pants. THIS WAS THREE MONTHS AFTER THE STORM!!!!!

I couldn’t stop it. It came out. I don’t cry often. I am even having to fight back the tears as I write this.

Jesus said that I gave him something to eat and drink, and that I visited him this week. Christ the King, in a hurricane-ravaged landscape,. Jesus identifying with those who have lost everything, through what he suffered in his coronation ceremony, the crucifixion.

Jesus, ministering to me, as I see the pain, and hear people tell stories of how God has ministered to them during and since the storm. Again, you come thinking that you are coming to help and be the hands of Christ for others, and you realize that they helped you, because they are Jesus.

There’s an old campfire song that goes, “Have you seen Jesus my Lord? He’s waiting for you.”

Now, I can honestly say, “yes.” And, I am forever changed.