A Referendum on Matthew 25

Matthew 25 transformed me from a secular student activist into a faith activist.

Matthew 25 transformed me from a secular student activist into a faith activist.

On Tuesday, I had the blessing of reading my conversion text on the steps of the United States Senate, with many hundreds of diverse Christian leaders. It was a beautiful and powerful sight to behold.

Joined by six Senators, we were there because of a big, bad, budget bill soon coming up for a vote in their chamber. A vote that will become a referendum on Matthew 25; a decision that could grievously impact the ones whom Jesus calls “the least of these.”

Although the Bible doesn’t provide us with specific details of legislation, we implored the U.S. Senators not to leave the values of faith outside the door of politics.

We came in a spiritual procession, singing, praying, and reading the words of Scripture. To lawmakers who profess faith, we pleaded: Let Jesus’ words into your hearts, minds, and decisions at this pivotal moment for our nation.

This debate must go deeper than partisan politics. One side speaks of the tens of millions who will be cut off from their health care and their food. The other side says nobody will feel the cuts as they hack away at life-saving food and medical programs. Only politicians who are ignorant of the plight of the tens of millions. of low-income families in the United States would tell vulnerable people to fill out more forms and just work harder.

Before He left for the politically and religiously powerful city of Jerusalem and ultimately to his death, Jesus went beyond politics in his last and final teaching.

Jesus says it was me. The key word from Jesus in this text is the word “I.” When it comes to the government, He doesn’t say you should take care of poor people…or that you can ignore them.

Instead, Jesus says, to “the nations,” I was hungry, I was thirsty, I was naked, I was a stranger, I was sick, I was in prison. What you do to “the least of these,” you do to me.

In Matthew 25, Jesus speaks to two groups of people. First, he warmly blesses those who have fed the hungry, clothed the naked, welcomed the stranger, cared for the sick, and visited the prisoner.

But then Jesus delivers a stark warning:

For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’ Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’ And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.

For the 16 million low-income people who will lose healthcare because of this budget bill, Jesus says “That’s Me.” For the tens of millions of children who could lose critical food aid, Jesus says, “That’s Me too.”

Led by Dr. Barbara Williams Skinner, we lifted up our hands in prayer toward all the Senators inside the Capitol building. As they debated the heartless attacks on the lives of faceless people, we invited the Senators to see the face of Jesus and hear his words, “You were refusing to help Me.”

Asking whether there is any room at the Senate Chamber for Jesus, we are now bringing His words to citizens on the outside and lawmakers on the inside. Already, more than 15,000 other people of faith have signed a petition to their individual Senators. You can join them right now by signing here.

Senator Chris Coons welcomed us to the marble stairs of the Senate and quoted Scriptures from all our traditions. Senator Warnock cited what many of us in the religious community believe–that a budget is a moral document that says who is important and who is not. Senator Cory Booker invited the few needed Republican colleagues to be motivated by their own faith and morality to join the opposition to this bill. And they all started with Scriptures that meant a great deal to them.

Senators Coons, Klobuchar, Warnock, and Booker speaking on the Senate Steps (Credit: Maurice G. Fitzgerald)

When I asked, “Does anyone else have a Scriptures to read, Senator Amy Klobuchar said, “I do! And she stepped forward to read hers. Eventually, a call from the crowd of faith leaders got repeated over and over as they lifted their hands to pray for the Senators, “Read your Scriptures!” Bishop Mariann Budde sang her closing prayer in Episcopal Church fashion.

When an immoral budget takes from the least to give more to those among us who already have the most: it becomes a gospel issue. That’s why hundreds of Christians showed up today at the Capitol, with tens of thousands more watching across the country, representing millions of Christians who care about the poor and vulnerable.

We say this bill is not “big and “beautiful,” but a “big betrayal” of the poor, our faith, and our Lord and Savior’s instructions to us.

Our prayer, going forward to a crucial vote, is this:

Lord, we pray for citizens and lawmakers to remember that how we treat the least of these is literally how we treat you.

Credit: Maurice G. Fitzgerald

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