One morning, as my son and I were playing our own version of "football-jog" (where we jog around the small garden place while kicking a small football), we saw a lady preparing food for some stray cats. Zek being curious, stopped to look while and I admired the lady for such gentle and kind act from a distance. But as she placed the food down in front of the gray-stripped dark cat, she started to shoo-away the other two cats nearby. Zek glanced back at me with a confused look. "Why were the other two cats prevented from sharing food with the dark cat?", was certainly the logical question bugging my son at that very moment. All three cats looked unfed but why only feed this particular one and deny the others?
It bugged me as well.
There were some situations in my life when I was also prejudicial and selective in my intention to help. Just recently, when I saw the Pakistani people devastated by the relentless flooding in their country for many days, I took pity on them which ended there – just pitying them. Not that I needed to hop into the next flight to Pakistan and volunteer there, but I realized that I could have just easily prayed for them and doled out some amount to organizations helping them directly. I could remember well, that during last year’s Ondoy calamity in the Philippines, we have incessantly included the affected Filipinos in our prayer time and even organized financial contribution-donation from our friends to send to our country.
So why do we choose who to help, who to love?
Is it because of our preferences for blood-relations, nationality or religious affiliations?
Is it because of wanting to be recognized for our good deed?
Is it because we hope to be repaid in any form in the near future?
Even the bible tells us of one story (Matthew 15:26-28). where a woman with a daughter tormented by a demon begged Jesus for healing and was told that “it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it into the dogs”. She was from Canaan and in all likelihood, a Gentile. Jesus is a Jew, whose community has expressed contempt for such people. It was only her great show of faith which seemed to have moved the Lord to grant her request. Not necessarily, because Jesus already knew the immovable faith of the woman and was only taking the opportunity to preach to His apostles and to the people present there. He wanted to teach them that God’s love and salvation is for all as long as they will have faith in Him, regardless of a person’s background.
Jesus emphasized this furthermore in Luke 6 :32-34 when He told us,“ For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, and get back the same amount”.
The challenge for those who are in service is not to be selective whom to serve and not to choose whom to love.
Matthew 25:33-46 made it clear that those who have fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, visited those in prison, welcomed strangers, cared for those who are ill and clothed the naked, they would be separated and grouped to the right side to be formally welcomed into God’s kingdom. The rest, who did otherwise, will be taken into the unquenchable fire. And when both sides asked the Lord when was He hungry or thirsty or ill or in prison, naked or a stranger, the Lord will say,” Whatever you have done to the least of your brethren, you have done unto me”. Note that He did not say ,”Whatever you did to your family member….”, or “Whatever you did to your community-member….”, or ,” Whatever you did to your Catholic brothers and sisters”. He did not specified any group but he gave the keyword of who should benefit from our service. They must be the “least” of our brethrens.
Indeed, loving anybody that falls in our category of “others” takes spiritual maturity from us all.
And yet it is possible because it is God who loved us first and continues to love us all.
No ifs and not a single but.
Neither should we.
God bless.
