Mtr Mary Trainor

When was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food?

Dear friend,

Matthew 25 is often cited as the scripture that best outlines a ministry of service, outreach, mission, or by whatever other name you may use.

Feed the hungry.
Give drink to the thirsty.
Welcome the stranger.
Visit the sick and the imprisoned.

I find curious the reaction of the people in our Gospel for today who were praised by Jesus for their ministering to him, and those who were condemned for not: Neither group recognized themselves in the story he told about their response or lack thereof to need. When was it we did that? When was it we did not do that?

Both groups responded (or not) to something hard-wired by God in all of us: An impulse to be kind, to help, to restore, to love in the way that God loves the whole of creation. Perhaps the meaning of his story is that some people kindle the flame of this impulse and, in others, the flame of this impulse has been doused with the waters of self-absorption.

Many have commented as to how prevalent vitriol is in our culture. The God-given impulse toward kindness is often covered over by a human-fashioned impulse toward evening a score.

One way I cope with this is by treasuring and sharing examples of human kindness when I bump into them. We may encounter such stories through daily social media. 

I share one such story that seems to illustrate this loving-kindness. Lest you think it is not about human beings, it most certainly is. This is what the Facebook post said: “At a zoo in Thailand, a tiger mom lost all her babies and entered a state of sadness where she no longer wanted to eat. Realizing that the animal would soon die, her caretakers opted to give her baby pigs in disguise so she wouldn't feel sad and, to the surprise of everyone, she adopted them.”

Whereas we expect--though may be disappointed--we expect humankind to respond to the needs of our own members, while allowing as forgivable to let “nature take its course” with another member of the animal kingdom. It is what it is, and so on.

As accompanying pictures attest, the tiger’s caretakers saw her life as worth living, her spirits worth lifting, her sorrow worth addressing. I can envision a little team of people, dropping any workplace squabbles they may have had to join in an effort to figure out a solution, then to squeeze chubby little piglets into tiger suits, place them with the suffering beast, and watch a miracle happen.

I still manage to find stories everyday that remind me of the goodness that lives in the people around me, who would drop everything they are doing to help out another. Even if it meant putting a piglet in a tiger suit.

Mtr Mary

For further reading regarding acts of love and kindness involving animals, check out the cover story of Desert Museum’s Discovery, Winter 2021/2022: Sharing in Caring in the Sonora Desert