Who is Human?

This weeks Gospel gives us a parable that asks us an important question. Who is cherished in our community. For far too long we have looked at false pretenses of honor to celebrities and notable figures. But Jesus paints a clear picture the one who is deserving of honor is the one who gives back and remembers what he would later call “the least of these.” In his day, those were prostitutes, ethnic minorities, tax collectors, all the people that the religious folk were told to despise. These people deserved to be human just like the rest of us.

We spend a lot of time navel gazing, and saying I wish I could do more for the community. But if we just look up and see, the work of the community is in our day to day lives. We live and work with people in opression all the time. We choose not to recognize it because our own daily baggage gets in the way.

The call this week is amazingly simple, go and be Jesus. Go and reach out and offer your humanity to people who are treated less than human. Give them a card to make a phone call home if they need it, lift them up if they are down trodden, and above all, treat others like human beings. Just because others treat someone disparingly doesn’t mean you have to.

God Bless,

Matt+