“For I was hungry, while you had all you needed. I was thirsty, but you drank bottled water. I was a stranger, and you wanted me deported. I needed clothes, but you needed more clothes. I was sick, and you pointed out the behaviors that led to my sickness. I was in prison, and you said I was getting what I deserved. (RESV – Richard E. Stearns Version)”

― Richard Stearns, The Hole in Our Gospel: What Does God Expect of Us? the Answer That Changed My Life and Might Just Change the World

This contemporary translation of Matthew by Richard Stearns in The Hole in Our Gospel calls us to look at our lifestyles with new eyes. We take our overly consumptive and wasteful habits for granted, while surrounded by those who are dying for lack of what we mindlessly throw away. Where’s the gospel in that?

The good news for the poor would be that those of us so blessed to have all we need would welcome them just as we proclaim we would welcome the Christ. Hopefully, we would not ignore the King of Kings. Why then do turn a deaf eyes to the cries of “the least of these?” As Stearns points out, our gospel has become far too holey to be any earthly good.