Sue's Musings

When Mother Teresa was hospitalized in Rome in 1983, she wrote her thoughts on the answer to the question: Who do you say that I am?” from Matthew 16:15. Here is part of her answer to the specific question: Who is Jesus to me?

Jesus is the Word – to be spoken.
Jesus is the Truth – to be told.
Jesus is the Way – to be walked.
Jesus is the Light – to be lit.
Jesus is the Life – to be lived.
Jesus is the Love – to be loved.
Jesus is the Joy – to be shared.
Jesus is the Sacrifice – to be offered.
Jesus is the Peace – to be given.
Jesus is the Bread of Life – to be eaten.
Jesus is the Hungry – to be fed.
Jesus is the Thirsty – to be satiated.
Jesus is the Naked – to be clothed.
Jesus is the Homeless – to be taken in.
Jesus is the Sick – to be healed.
Jesus is the Lonely – to be loved.
Jesus is the Unwanted – to be wanted.
Jesus is the Leper – to wash his wounds.
Jesus is the Beggar – to give him a smile.
Jesus is the Drunkard – to listen to him.
Jesus is the Retarded – to protect him.
Jesus is the Little One – to embrace him.
Jesus is the Blind – to lead him.
Jesus is the Dumb – to speak for him.
Jesus is the Crippled – to walk with him.
Jesus is the Drug Addict – to befriend him.
Jesus is the Prostitute – to remove from danger and befriend.
Jesus is the Prisoner – to be visited.
Jesus is the Old – to be served.

She lived that out every single day – taking to heart Matthew 25:40: “just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”

As I think about our struggle to find a way for the church to be vital and alive and living out God’s mission in the world, sometimes I think we make it too complicated. It’s really very simple – how well do we – as individuals and as a church, care for the least of these, who are members of God’s family? Do we really love them? If so, how far are we willing to go to show that love in word and deed? Let us remember that following Christ is a call to serve, not a call to be served. Is it easy? Not always – in fact maybe rarely so. But it is an invitation to see Christ in those around us, to see the need behind the eyes, and to respond with the love of Christ in concrete ways. It does cost to do that – but that too, is a gift. Perhaps the cost we pay, if it is a meaningful cost, opens the door for us to see more clearly Christ in those we are called to love and serve, and to recognize, as Mother Teresa did, that then we are truly in the presence of Christ.