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What You Did not do for the Least of These You Did not do for Me – Christians Must Welcome Strangers [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-06-29

There is a long history of preaching and interpreting the Bible in Christianity. Ministers continually exhort their church members with carrots promising heaven and sticks threatening hell.

So today, I, a secular person would like to do a little preaching. Anyone can assume the role of preacher. For far too long, honest, caring people have stood by while “preachers” corrupt the Christian message for political purposes.

So, I will do some preaching of my own to right-winger who claim to follow Christ.

Here is the biblical verse I wish to talk about in my homily:

Christ: Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ (Matthew 25:45) And in Matthew 25:40 there is the similar statement: Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.

But in addition to this, verse Matt 25:42 also states: For I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat (right-wing Christian support drastically reducing food stamps) and Verse 25:43 states: I was a stranger, and you did not invite me in (right-wing Christians want the undocumented imprisoned and deported) … I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me (right-wing Christians support imprisoning and punishing the undocumented and a bill that will lead to 11.8 million people losing medical insurance).

So, this chapter in Matthew is filled with commands about welcoming and supporting the stranger and the needy.

In my new role as minister (like most ministers), I ask myself repeatedly: “How can I get Christians to follow Christ’s commandments when so many are intent on ignoring them or doing the opposite of what is commanded?”

If there is one statement in the Bible that might wake “conservative” Christians out of their ethical stupor and get them to stop attacking immigrants, it might be the Matthew 25:45 verse above.

It is a direct, dramatic, and unambiguous statement. It focuses on the poor, the sick, the downtrodden, and those without power in society and asks Christians to do for them as they would do for Christ.

The lowest of the low are thus transformed into the ideal manifestation of God on earth – Christ himself.

Could true Christians break up Christ’s family or put them in cages as the President (with considerable Christian right-wing support) did in his first term?

How about deporting Christ to a foreign land where he could not speak the language upon arrival and making him a lost and vulnerable refugee?

What about sending SWAT teams to arrest Christ and his family without regard to their citizenship or immigration status and without probable cause or due process?

And what about using masked police in military garb to reign down terror upon Mary and Joseph when they traveled to Judea to register for a tax prior to the birth of Christ?

Can Christians expect a heavenly reward after treating Christ this way?

Can ministers seeking forgiveness and entrance into heaven expect to approach judgement day with confidence after supporting the mistreatment of God’s only son?

What you do to the weak and the powerless you do to Christ. There is little room for a different interpretation or a discussion. The undocumented are strangers to our country and Christ is crystal clear about how strangers should be treated.

My ethical judgement (ministers are not usually shy about making judgments): Let Christians that do not obey Christ’s commands and use Christianity to seek political and economic power be warned.

Saying you are Christian does not make you a Christian when your actions are consistently the exact opposite of what Christ commands you to do.

Claiming to seek the divine while wallowing in darkness, nationalism, and vengeance will more likely lead to the shadowy place underneath the earth where darkness dwells.

Christ concludes in Matthew 25:46: “Then they [the unrighteous who treat the weak and vulnerable badly] will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

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