From the Kennedy Funeral: Matthew 25:31-46 -Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers..

[ddeclue]

that you do unto me also.

I have said repeatedly that conservative Republicans and so called "conservative Christians" in particular hate having this passage thrown in their faces - apparently the pastor was a very smart guy to bring this passage up - it is relevant in the Catholic funeral rite but it also makes the progressive point about helping your neighbor and applies to the healthcare debate at hand. The priest got to say this to the assembled mourners and TV audience and the Democratic politicians did not have to say it.

Matthew 25:31-46 (New International Version)

The Sheep and the Goats

31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

[47of74]

1. I think when this comes to pass

I think when this comes to pass, some people are going to be surprised just where they are asked to stand. Unpleasantly surprised too.

[BrklynLiberal]

2. There is no better way to judge a nation than by how it treats the least of its citizens.

[geek_sabre]

9. the Repub response would be

"God saves men, not nations"

or

"What about abortion?"

[BrklynLiberal]

16. Definition of non sequitur:# a reply that has no relevance to what preceded it

(logic) a conclusion that does not follow from the premises

[IdaBriggs]

3. Drat! Drat! Drat! I accidentally hit "unrecommend" when I meant

to hit "recommend!" Can someone help me out here, please?

And I am very sorry -- this is a beautiful post, so I meant to hit the "recommend" feature!

ARGH!!! Apologies!!! It would have been "6" instead of "4" votes, but for my mistake!

[ddeclue]

4. Thanks.. it would be a nice improvement to "unrecommend" to be able to switch your vote back

to neutral or recommend.

:)

[Lifelong Protester]

7. I hit in a rec for you, and the post, as it is what I think always

when some holier than thou type tries to talk about the homeless 'like to live like that' or that the poor are just 'lazy' or 'dumb'....

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. The Republican concept of this is

that the government should not be able to "force" people to help others by paying taxes; instead, all aid for people who need it should be provided by private charity. This, of course, makes it possible for you to chose whom you will and will not help. You can decide who is worthy or unworthy of your assistance. You can contribute to an organization or fund-raiser that ensures only "deserving" (white? Christian?) people get your hard-earned money.

But there's nothing in the teachings of Jesus that suggests that it's OK to help some and not others. To the contrary, the cited passage refers only to "the least of these." Not just the white, the Christian, the people you know, the people you approve of. "The least of these" are more likely to be people you might not hang out with -- the poorest, the minorities, the unemployed, the desperate, the unattractively sick, people with AIDS, Muslims, atheists.

So it seems to me Jesus doesn't give you a choice. If someone needs help you give it to them, no questions asked. This is consistent with the ethics of other religions, too -- Buddhists, for example, require you to show compassion for all sentient beings. But I don't know if you are allowed to be a Buddhist if you are a Republican.

[Louisiana1976]

6. Hmm..I can't think of any Buddhist Republicans--but isn't it interesting

how GOP'ers who make a big show of being Christian only give lip-service to Christian values such as loving thy neighbor as thyself and doing unto others as you would have them do unto you?

[bigmonkey]

11. It's not just that in the passage Jesus doesn't give you a choice!

In fact, the "...when did we ...?" aspect of the passage implies that those who were unconsciously generous by nature are rewarded, whereas those who were unconsciously stingy have a hard time. What's crucial is what those addressed did when they were presented with ordinary suffering in their ordinary lives, not what they did when they knew that the occasion was important.

For me the implication is that the person who tries in general to calibrate just how little they should help is on the wrong path, whereas the person who helps without such calculation is on the better path. The entire right-wing project of trying to figure out who to help seems to be condemned, in other words.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

12. Yes, absolutely.

You don't calculate; you just do it. You help everybody who needs it, period.

[Berry Cool]

15. I hope it is.

I hate how they try to imply that caring for the unfortunate is not the government's job, and should be left to private charity alone, and imply that even Jesus supports them in that.

[Slippery]

8. Shocked, shocked I tell you!!!

I would have thought Robert Mondavi would have been there talking about when Jesus turned the water to wine.

Plus the folks from Cutty Sark who were in cohoots w/ father Joe during prohibition....

[voc]

10. kick

[Captain Hilts]

13. I remember Jesse Jackson jr. saying that that was also "The Marine Corps Way," and it is...

Marines don't leave their wounded or weak behind.

Our society does.

[Missy Vixen]

14. This leaves the non-health care reformers without a leg to stand on

After all, if we live in a "Christian nation", doesn't it compel them to support health care reform?

They just got hoisted by their own petards. There is NO possible way to escape from this argument.

:rofl: