Burying Indifference

Matthew 25:31-45

'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?' (Matt 25:44)

“To sustain a lifestyle which excludes others, or to sustain enthusiasm for that selfish ideal, a globalization of indifference has developed. Almost without being aware of it, we end up being incapable of feeling compassion at the outcry of the poor, weeping for other people’s pain, and feeling a need to help them, as though all this were someone else’s responsibility and not our own.” – Pope Francis

Like a good biblical prophet, Pope Francis has raised his concern over what he has identified as a growing globalization of indifference in which we have become accustomed to the suffering of others and do not care. In Jesus’ parable about the judgment of the nations, the question is asked: “When did we see you hungry, naked, sick, or in prison?” The implication seems to be that if they had known it was the Lord, they would have actually responded. But I believe the indictment is in the fact that they did see and didn’t care.

Indifference is a dangerous spiritual malady that infects us all on some level. That’s one of the reasons we gathered in God’s presence on Ash Wednesday and prayed:  “Our neglect of human need and suffering, and our indifference to injustice and cruelty, we confess to you.”   

Burying Indifference

•  Pray the news.

• Look into the work of the ELCA World Hunger Appeal, Lutheran World Relief, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, Disaster Response, and get involved.

• Ask someone how they’re doing, and take time to listen. Get involved in a ministry of outreach.

Hunger facts

• 868 million people – that’s 1 in 8 – are chronically hungry and cannot lead active daily lives.
• 1.4 billion people live in extreme poverty, living on less than $1.25 per day.
• In the United States, more than 50 million people do not know where their next meal will come from.
• 46.2 million Americans are living in poverty.