Nuns on the Bus!

I am not Catholic so I have to admit until the brouhaha hit, I had never heard of the "Nuns on a Bus" program or Sr. Simone Campbell, but I listened to her speech at the Democratic National Convention last week and I felt a huge tug on her theology of feeding the poor.   This theology wasn't espoused by the Catholics, the Sisters or the Democratic party;  it came from Scripture in the Old Testament and repeated in the New Testament.

Matthew 25:34-35  says:  "Then; the King will say to those on his right, 'Come ye blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the Foundation of the world.  For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat.  I was thirsty and you gave me drink.  I was a stranger and you invited me in."  This is called the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats.  The Sheep played it right; the Goats played it wrong.  Both reaped eternal consequences for their acts on earth!

In 1971 forty-seven Catholic sisters gathered in Washington D. C, calling themselves Nuns on the Bus, to lobby for bills relating to healthcare for the poor, food for the poor and organizing a sense of community.  Their only goal was to shape a new ministry which focused on justice for all!  And they have followed their goal!

I thank them for their work and applaud every person who seeks the same goal  --helping the downtrodden.  In these days, when people are without work, it is even more vital to reach down to lift another up.  It separates the sheep from the goats!  Each of us, no matter how much we make, should seek to become an advocate of hope for someone else.

And the road to  Sheepdom is not paved with good intentions!  It is paved with acts of kindness!