Coats and Cloaks
Matthew 5:38-42
…if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well. v. 40
In these verses Jesus takes the old adage, “an eye for an eye, and tooth for a tooth” to a new level. This particular vision of justice improved on the law of the jungle that demanded escalating retribution for a wrong. The retribution should be commensurate with the wrong.
Jesus commands a new justice. A justice that moves in the opposite direction—overcompensation. Turn the other cheek. Forced to go one mile, go two. Give to everyone who begs, do not refuse anyone who want to borrow. If someone wants your coat, give him your cloak also.
Most of the time we give on the basis of need. Before we are willing to make a contribution, we want to know that a true need exists. We fear being taken advantage of. Unfortunately, our world harbors many who make their way through scams and grifting. Robo-callers want our social security numbers, our credit card numbers, our birth dates, etc. Some charities spend more on fund-raising than on those in need.
Yet many legitimate needs do exist. Sometimes, the need is hidden. A teenager who is homeless and is couch surfing may not want anyone to know that he or she is in need of underwear. Another may skip school out of shame that they must wear the same clothes over and over while their peers sport the latest designer creations.
Winter finds the homeless person without a coat or without a blanket or without shoes. If they should come asking, would we be willing to respond and, in fact, to go beyond responding in a minimal way? Would we offer two coats, two blankets, two pairs of shoes, a warm place to sleep?
Jesus lives among the homeless, the needy, the poor. Can we go beyond justice to love? Can we give our cloak, also, to those who need our coat?
Prayer: God who clothes the world in beauty, among us many are homeless . Help us to find the courage to provide shelter for those who are in need. May we find joy in caring for each other. Amen.
Fast: By reading the labels in your clothes to discover their origin.
Act: Set aside purged clothes to give to local clothes closet.
OR $1 for World Hunger Appeal water projects.
...the least of these... 