I\u2019d suggest one, at least for Americans and Europeans. It\u2019s Matthew 25:31-46. You\u2019ll remember the passage. Jesus tells the people about the judgment to come. The king says to some: \u201cCome, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Why them? He says: \u201cFor I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.\u201d When did we do that? they ask. The King tells them: \u201cTruly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some did not do that for the least of these. The king tells them: \u201cDepart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.\u201d<\/p>\n
Why did I choose this passage? Because few of us like this idea. As a lovely ideal, yes, but not as a truth to be lived. We don\u2019t want so radical a change in what we do with our stuff. And not just our stuff, but our time, our energies, our space, our company, our affections even.<\/p>\n