To The Least of These My Brethren

While in my heart Celebrating the Canonization and Sainthood of Mother Teresa, now Saint Teresa by Pope Francis, I was listening to a video about her life where she held up the hand of her guest and counted off the five words “You did it (un)to me.”

I was touched that as we look at her life, her strength and her service, she was motivated and driven that every act of kindness, every service she performed in the “black hole of Calcutta” where she worked to aid the poorest of the poor; those whose lives were discarded was an act of Love that she performed to the least of these “my brethren” because she saw in them the Divine Light.

I had never heard that story before.

I had written the article below recently about living a life in service to others by seeing in them, “inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me,” as instructed by Jesus (in the King James Bible version.)

Realizing that Saint Teresa of Calcutta, known for most of my life as Mother Teresa lived by those five words (You, Did, It, To, Me as a way to explain the five gospels) demonstrates how powerful those five words can be.

The story I share here, about my grandmother will hopefully demonstrate alone with Saint Teresa’s canonization that this instruction by Jesus was not an impossible task, but rather a way we can each decide to walk the world in Love, service, and fellowship with one another.

Here is a shorter video I found with Mother Teresa explaining the
5 Finger Prayer:

Let her Love and her service inspire people around the world to realize that what she did in her life each and every one of us can do.

Although we may never be declared a Saint we can follow the teachings of these five words of Jesus and the marvelous example of the life and work of Saint Teresa.  We can live a meaningful life, a blessed life and be a blessing to those we encounter on our journey through life.

Some of us may feel the tasks ahead are beyond us.  Indeed, we are told that Mother Teresa felt the vast poverty she was sent by her convent to minister to was beyond her, but in her daily walk with Christ as a demonstration of Love, she became a beacon of Light for the entire world.

Parables have been a method of spiritual teachers throughout the ages.  Much like the tradition of a Zen Koan, a parable is a story for you to consider and ponder the deeper truth and lesson being offered.  The lesson of a parable must be pondered in your heart as it is considered in your mind.  Ponder on this.

The guidance of a parable is revealed through your inner wisdom through a sense of knowing and what has the resonance of a ring of truth to it.  Often, it is the very pondering of what the teacher meant that gives the greatest spiritual insight.

The Bible phrase above found in Matthew 25:40 is a parable.  In the simple phrase “Yeah though you have done it for the least of these my brethren” is a profound life guidance statement that is often ignored by those who say they follow Jesus.  This little line in this simple parable ignites many questions that are worthy of pondering and considering.

In my life, I was blessed by a wonderful grandmother who had given this passage enough gravitas and consideration that it guided her whole life.  I cannot remember and count all of the unwed mothers who migrated through my grandmother’s home over the years.  The young women who were often disowned or cast out by their families found a haven in my grandmother’s home.

One by one she saw the woman through their pregnancy and birth then helped them find honorable and respectable men who would marry them and become a father to their child.  As a child observing this, I do not know the details of how she managed to accomplish this task.

Mostly, I remember the often bittersweet joy of the young woman moving on to a better life that was mixed with my grandmother missing the baby who had been born into this situation.

Likewise, my grandmother had a neighbor who had transferred the deed to her home to her son so that when she passed on he would not have to pay inheritance tax.  He then immediately sold the house out from under her, thus rendering the woman homeless.  The result was my grandmother took her in.  They were not friends, only neighbors.  In fact, they never even addressed one another by their first names.  I only knew this resident in my grandmother’s home as Mrs. Malloy.

My grandmother housed and cared for Mrs. Malloy for many years until caring for her became beyond my grandmother’s health abilities.  She then found a home that could provide the care, Mrs. Malloy, now needed.  She then visited her weekly until Mrs. Malloy passed.

When as a child I would question the reasoning behind my Grandmother’s generosity she explained it through this biblical passage.  In her mind and heart, each of these people who had found themselves in unfortunate circumstances was cared for as if they were Jesus knocking on the door of her heart.  She welcomed them and treated them as if they were Him.

This extraordinary example of living that biblical passage has had a profound influence in my life and is one which I have pondered throughout my life.  What I have come to understand and realize is that this is a complex lesson.  The answers are not simple.

A whole myriad of factors must be considered that are related to issues of personal responsibility.  There are life lessons to be learned from every situation that is not yours or mine to disrupt through charity.

One of the clearest of these lessons is the concept of seeing the Divine spark within each person that led Jesus to say in this parable “I was sick, and you cared for me; I was in prison, and you visited me; I was hungry, and you fed me.”  We find this Divine spark within those who are even the “least of these my brethren.” 

It is in serving and caring for others with Love, while still empowering them to co-create in their own life the fulfillment of their dreams and desires, which you can best be of service.

The respect and honor you give to even the least of these the brethren of the Christ, and the least of these your brethren a demonstration of how brotherhood works.  It is through the brotherhood of men and sisterhood among woman that you best acknowledge the Divine spark that is within each of us.  This acknowledgment is captured in the phrase of the ancient greeting of “Namaste – The Divine spark in me honors and recognizes the Divine spark in you.”

In this way we are all brothers and sisters, we are all the children of God.  We are One Humanity.

None of us is an island, our separateness and separation are an illusion.  We cannot hurt one another without hurting ourselves.  Likewise, when we help and serve another, we help ourselves. This connection is real no matter how much we may strive to think in selfish and separate ways.

Deep in your heart and more importantly deep in your Soul this truth is known.  No matter how individual life may seem, there is a unity of connection we all have with one another.

The biblical phrase that guided so much of my Grandmother’s life and service was “Yeah though you have done it unto the least of these my brethren you have done it unto me.”  For my grandmother, every unwed mother who traveled through her care and her homeless neighbor were all part of her expression of love and service to the Christ.

This living example of the active principle of love had a profound influence on my life that guides my life situations today.  I am so grateful that this loving woman was in my life.  Her example and love have been a constant source of strength in my life journey.

I am eternally grateful for the blessing of her presence in my life and her tireless example of what love and service mean.

Although I have known many wonderful spiritual teachers throughout my life, my grandmother living her life by that simple phrase from the book of Matthew 25:40 was more of an example of following the teachings of Jesus than the many sermons I have heard in my life.

She truly “walked her talk,” and I was so blessed by the opportunity to observe someone who “walked their talk” in my formative years.  Her living expression of Love and Grace has been ongoing support (even though her body has passed on) and I am grateful for the blessing of her example and her love in my life.

In all of her expressions of Love and Service, to the various unwed mothers who cycled through her home, I recall a complete lack of judgment toward the woman she brought under her protection.  She opened her heart and her home to help them get their life back on track, so a mistake was not the definition of their future.

Her demonstration of grace and her example of forgiveness and especially self-forgiveness have been an example of what forgiveness means and the unconditional nature of love.

For my Grandmother, it was Christ that she served and Christ who knocked on the door to her heart and Christ she housed and cared for when she gave comfort and shelter to those in need.  I can only marvel at what a beautiful demonstration of love her life was for with gratitude in my heart for having been blessed by the love and support of such an amazing disciple of Christ.

I am blessed to share her story with you with love and invite you to open your heart and Do It Unto Me.

Namaste,

Genevieve

The Blessing of Love on All That You Do!

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Last updated 9-8-2019

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