March 15

“ ... cuando vuelva a verlos se alegrarán, y nadíe les va a quítar esa alegría.”

A dear friend was a criminal attorney. We would joke about his “but for the least of these” defenses in the courtroom. If that bedraggled person on the street corner could be questioned by the police for simply being there, what made me feel as if I would not be questioned next? If my friend could protect and help “the least of these,” then he could be sure that his family and friends would also be protected and helped. The scripture above uses this phrase, but reading it from The Message really hits home – “Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me – you did it to me.” If those who are overlooked or ignored are protected and helped, then my friend can rest in peace. And we can all sleep better.

DEAR LORD, KEEP OUR EYES OPEN TO ALL AROUND US AND OUR HANDS AND HEARTS READY TO HELP. BUT, MOST OF ALL, MAY WE ALWAYS BE READY TO DO YOUR WILL AND NOT OUR OWN. AMEN.

- Joel Pollock