In the parable of the sheep and goats the Savior explains who will be saved by describing a final judgement scene in which the righteous are praised for how they served the Lord. The righteous seem surprised and say, “When saw we thee a hungered?”
Jesus answered inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these you have done it unto me.”
When I read these scriptures today I thought of my dad coming to a final judgement and being surprised at the Lord telling him that he had served him. I imagine my dad saying, “When did I see you hungry, thristy, or naked? I don’t remember being that good.
Then I imagine the Lord saying, “Well, Rick. You made a lot of money in your life. Where is it?”
My dad would reply, “Oh, that. My kids ate it.”
The correct response would actually be, “My 10 kids ate it, wore it, and slept under it.”
I loved reading this prarble today and thinking of how I saw my dad live it in our family life.
“For I was an hungered and ye gave me meat.” - I remember him waking up every morning at 5:30 am to make a warm breakfast for his kids before early morning seminary. There was always a pitcher of orange juice and a pitcher of grape juice that I took advantage of. I have to admit that sometimes I passed on the breakfast when it was paprika (he mistook it for cinnamon) oatmeal or cooked sausage in the pancakes.
“I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink.” -Hunger and thirst can be spiritual as well as physical. I remember many nights after dinner when my belly was full, but I had a spiritual hunger that I turned to my Dad to fill. It usually was a question about the Gospel that I had. We did dishes together as a family every night after dinner. My dad was my captive listener and teacher. I knew that I wasn’t interrupting his work or any other thing because he was washing the dishes we me. That is when I asked him about Roe vs. Wade, capital punishment. ERA, family planning, and many more topics that I wanted to understand
“Naked and ye clothed me” - I remember once not having any cute shoes to wear to school. My dad was yelling at me to get into the car because we were going to be late for seminary. The only thing I had to wear were some bright green elf-looking shoes that a grandma had given me. I held on to them thinking that maybe their uniqueness could be cute with the right outfit, but on the morning that I was forced to wear them I knew that was a lie. I looked ridiculous and the feeling of dread I had made me cry. My dad was irritated that we were late and now irritated that I was crying. He asked me, “What is wrong?” I told him. He softened immediately and asked if he could take me on a date after school to buy some new shoes. I was really surprised at how tenderly he looked at me, that he was willing to take off work when he was so busy at that time in his life, and that he was going to buy me shoes when I knew we were so poor. I will always remember how he was so touched by my vain plight.
“I was a stranger and ye took me in.” -Sometimes, as children we went through such drastic changes it was like getting to know a stranger and being willing to take that new person into your life. I remember that he used to tease one of my free-spirited brothers for being careless or irresponsible. But, that toe-headed boy grew-up to be a free-spirited, yet over-achieving and very responsible man. Beginning with my brother’s missionary homecoming my Dad had to get to know a different person--a stranger. I frequently hear my dad compliment my brother saying, “He will always have work. He is very talented and responsible about seeking those things out.” I wasn’t at all surprised to hear that my dad and that brother have a business venture that they are working on together because I have seen my dad get to know again and accept that brother for who he really is.
“I was sick and ye visited me.”--My dad cared for us in many ways when we were sick. He always bought popsicles for us and if we were really bad off he would take us to the hospital He loves to recount how he would go to the emergency room with whichever of us was injured and the ER receptionist would ask if we had ever been there before. My dad wouldn’t divulge how often he frequented the ER, but would tell the receptionist to look our family up. He loved hearing them say, “Wow!” as they scrolled through the many ER visits that we had.
“I was in prison, and ye came unto me.” I have never been in prison, but I have felt trapped and lonely. It was after I had my first child and the hormonal adjustment left me feeling like I had a bad case of anxiety. He came to take care of me. By this time in my life his breakfast skills had increased greatly. The pancake mix in was the left over berry pie from last night’s take-out dinner. Since then it became sort of a tradition for him to visit his daughters after they had a baby to take care of them. That has meant dinners from restaurants, his homemade signature breakfasts, and lots of spoiling of the siblings of the newborn.
My Dad has gone from generous father to an absolutely indulgent grandpa. His generosity is epic with his grandchildren. The toys and the restaurants have been very fun, but what I treasure most is to see my son copy the way that he has been treated. Isaiah has been saving his money for Jacob to come out. I ask him what he wants to buy for Jacob He says, “I am just going to tell him, ‘do you want a toy? Pick one out! Do you want to go out to dinner? Where do you want to go? Want some candy? Which one do you want?’” Those exact phrases are things that my Dad has told him. How grateful I am for a dad that is a sheep!
http://lds.org/scriptures/nt/matt/25.31-46?lang=eng#30
