There was a general theme running through today’s Mass readings about a Christian’s duty towards the less fortunate. Today we heard the prophet Amos warns those who “trample upon the needy” that “[the Lord] will never forget any of their deeds,” and heard the Psalmist tell of how the Lord “raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the ash heap” (cf. Amos 8:4, 7; Psalm 113:7). Most famously, however, we hear Our Lord tell us that

No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

Luke 16:13

While studying the gospels in a course at university, my professor noted how Luke’s gospel often speaks of how the Lord comes to bring relief to the poor, the oppressed, the downtrodden, the lowly, etc. But in fact, Luke’s gospel takes the matter even further than that, going so far as to stress Our Lord’s identification with the less fortunate:

Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.”

Luke 9:58

My grandmother told me a story to this effect just earlier today, as it happens. She told me of a homeless man she met in Dorset, with long hair, baby blues eyes, and cuts on his wrists in the same spot they might have been if he were crucified; and she told me that when she looked at him, she thought, “Oh, my gosh! He looks just like Jesus.” She told me she this, saying that she knows it might come across a bit silly, but she saw what she saw. On the other hand, I thought it was a beautiful manner in which to see the situation: where was Christ in all of this? In all this, Christ was among the lowly.

He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord,
    and he will repay him for his deed.

Proverbs 19:17

What then does this say about our duty to those of such a circumstance? I believe the answer to this question was given to me when I visited St Benedict’s Parish in Milton the other day. Above the door, there is a sign written in gold lettering above the door that reads “All are to be welcomed as Christ” (from Rule 53 of the Rule of St Benedict). We are not simply called to be generous with whatever spare change we happen to have in our pockets. We are called to welcome them; that is, to be willing to encounter them.

Doing street ministry the other day, one of the things that struck me was how much some of the people on the street would talk about their stories. The thought dawned on me that this might have been one of the few occasions when someone would listen to their story or engage with them. How many times do people just walk past the homeless on the street, after all? How discouraging might it feel to be consistently walked by like that?

Thus, I became convicted of the principle that we are not simply called to try to alleviate the material suffering of others, but also to encounter them as human beings, not simply a statistic. A smile, a hello, a kind word, or perhaps even a conversation can go a long way in being the light in someone else’s life.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 5:16