Submitted by Pastor Donna Clark Fuller, 

Rock Port and Watson United Methodist Churches 

“I was hungry and you gave me food…” Matthew 25:35

Jesus tells us that those who will be considered righteous are those who help other people in life. These acts of mercy include giving drink to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, giving clothes to those without clothes, taking care of the sick and visiting those in prison. Jesus further tells us that whoever does these things to any person, any member of God’s family, does it to Him. 

In wintertime in northwest Missouri, perhaps we should also be helping those who are freezing because they have no warm place to stay. Jesus did not come to our part of the world. The place He came to never had the temperatures we have had in the last couple of weeks. But we have in our communities people who struggle to pay utility bills to keep the heat on, to have enough insulation in their homes, or to have enough warm clothing. There are groups who try to help those in that kind of need. But it often needs to start with just knowing our neighbors and becoming aware of who is in need.

I think there is a bigger aspect to our faith that Jesus calls us to in this scripture. I think Jesus calls us into relationships with others. In order to know the needs of our neighbors we need to first be in the kind of relationships with our neighbors that allow us to know those needs, whatever those needs may be. I don’t think Jesus’ list is meant to be all-inclusive. Just as there may be other needs in different parts of the world, each of our neighbors is in a different place from the place of our lives. When we enter into the kinds of relationships that show us the lives and needs of others, we enrich our lives as well, we open ourselves to our neighbors and our needs to them as well.

So in these frigid cold days of winter, may we let our lives be warmed by the gift of loving our neighbors and allowing them to love us. May we all be warmed by the love of God for each one of us, each one of God’s family.