For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you made me your guest. I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me. -Matthew 25:35-36
For almost a year, Congregation Shema Yisrael has been collecting and delivering food and other items to the Idaho Foodbank in and around Boise, Idaho, in response to the command of Yeshua and of God to take care of the poor among us. I don’t write this to glorify our congregation, but rather to remind everyone who reads this blog that people don’t just get hungry around the holidays.
We are about to enter what most people in the U.S. call “the holiday season”. This is comprised of that period between Thanksgiving and Christmas, in the months of November and December. Billboards will go up, radio spots will be broadcast, and notices will be posted in many workplaces, asking that donations be made to the local foodbanks and homeless shelters. By January 1st, those pleas for the poor will disappear and the reminders will be gone. In fact, people get hungry 365 days a year, and usually several times a day. While many people will donate when they are reminded, they stop when the advertisements stop. Yet hunger is something people face every day all over the world.
At the beginning of October, our congregation delivered our latest food barrel to the Idaho Foodbank. We have also in the past, given clothing and other items to the Boise Rescue Mission. While these are worthwhile efforts, we can’t fulfill the needs of all the needy in our community and in the world alone. The next time you eat, remember those who are hungry because they have no food. The next time you put on a sweater or coat because you are cold, remember those who have no warm clothing. The next time you remember them, do something about it, wherever you live, and whoever you are.
What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. -James 2:14-17
James, the brother of Yeshua, is right in saying that faith without deeds is dead. If our hearts are warmed when we pray to Messiah and sing songs of praise to God, but we do not give of ourselves, even if our means our meager, to those who have less than we, what does our “faith” really mean?
To learn more about how we donate to the poor among us, visit the Congregation Shema Yisrael website. I pray that you will give, or continue to give. When we serve the least of the Master’s servants, we are serving him.
