What was the secret of Mother Teresa ’ s extraordinary ability to touch the hearts of people of every nation , background , and religion ? There are many organizations that serve the poor and countless individuals who devote themselves to the relief of human suffering . Why was this diminutive nun in a striped sari honored and loved with deep affection throughout the world ?
THE LIVING WORD
Reading Scripture from the Heart of the Church
“ As You Did to One of the Least ”
Dr . Mary Healy
What was the secret of Mother Teresa ’ s extraordinary ability to touch the hearts of people of every nation , background , and religion ? There are many organizations that serve the poor and countless individuals who devote themselves to the relief of human suffering . Why was this diminutive nun in a striped sari honored and loved with deep affection throughout the world ?
Perhaps the answer may be found by looking at what Scripture teaches about works of mercy .
God ’ s command to care for the needy is one of the most frequently repeated injunctions in the Bible . When the people of Israel were about to cross over into the Promised Land , God admonished them , “ The poor will never cease out of the land ; therefore I command you , you shall open wide your hand to your brother , to the needy and to the poor ” ( Dt 15:11 ). No Israelite should ever celebrate a feast without sharing his food with “ the alien , the orphan and the widow ” ( Dt 16:14 ). No one harvesting his crops should ever reap all the way to the edge of the field , but should leave some to be gleaned by the poor ( Dt 24:19-22 ).
Through Isaiah , God taught his people what kind of fasting pleases him : “ Is not this the fast that I choose : . . . Is it not to share your bread with the hungry , and bring the homeless poor into your house ; when you see the naked , to cover him , and not to hide yourself from your own flesh ?” ( Is 58:6-7 ).
“ Without this motivation , a Christian ministry to the poor becomes merely another NGO .”
But in the New Testament , the Lord reveals something new . Around the time of Passover , when it was customary to give alms , there was a memorable scene : a woman came and poured on Jesus a costly gift , an alabaster jar of precious ointment . Perhaps not surprisingly , the disciples were upset : “ Why this waste ? For this ointment might have been sold for a large sum , and given to the poor ” ( Mt 26:8-9 ). Her spontaneous generosity seemed to them a needless waste of what could have been used for poverty relief .
But Jesus responds
by indicating that it is actually they who have failed to respond rightly . “ Why do you trouble the woman ? For she has done a beautiful thing to me . For you always have the poor with you , but you will not always have me ” ( Mt 26:10-11 ).
The disciples ’ advocacy for a more moderate response to Jesus was founded on worldly calculations that completely missed the significance of his identity and mission . The divine bridegroom was in their midst and was about to make an infinitely costly gift of himself on the cross . Could anything given to him be a waste ?
Jesus ’ words in no way mean that his followers are dispensed from charity toward the poor . Rather , our gifts to the poor must be first and foremost gifts to him , the Lord who is infinitely worthy of our love and devotion . Only then do they have the purity of intention that makes them a manifestation of God ’ s own love for the poor . Prior to any act of charity to the poor is charity toward Jesus himself , for he himself is present in the poor .
Without this motivation , a Christian ministry to the poor becomes merely another NGO . With it , it becomes a sign of the kingdom of heaven in our midst .
Mother Teresa understood this well , such that her every act of service was an act of love for Jesus himself “ in the distressing disguise of the poor .” No wonder we can hardly hear Jesus ’ words in Matthew 25 — just before the alabaster jar scene in Matthew 26 — without thinking of Mother Teresa : “ Truly , I say to you , as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren , you did it to me ” ( Mt 25:40 ).
Dr . Mary Healy is professor of Sacred Scripture at Sacred Heart . shms . edu 37