I am not always too good when it comes to noticing changes in people.  “Say, did you get a haircut?”  “Um, no, I got contacts.”  “Aw, you shaved your beard off!”  “Um, yeah.  Three months ago.”  Oops.  I also have trouble recognizing people when I see them outside the context in which I normally see them.  That is, if I met you at church on Sunday, then see you at the grocery store next Friday, it is possible that I will kinda sorta have a feeling that you look vaguely familiar, yet not remember at all who you are or where we met.  Embarrassing.

This morning, in a sermon related to seeking God, our pastor told of a version of Hide and Seek that he used to play with a youth group years ago.  The kids would be taken to a big mall nearby and tasked with seeking all the youth leaders who were “hiding” in various places inside.  The trick?  The leaders could be in any section of any store, and didn’t necessarily look quite like themselves.  One year, Pastor Brian (a tall guy) sat in a wheelchair, wearing a white, old-lady wig, with a blanket around his shoulders!  Took a loooong time for the kids to find him that time.  Had I been there, I might still be looking.  I have a bad enough time recognizing people under normal circumstances, but in a context where I don’t usually see them, and in disguise?  Yikes!

In the familiar story in Matthew 25 of the great sorting of the sheep and the goats at the Judgment, the Son of Man tells the sheep, on His right, blessed of His Father, to inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world.  He tells the goats, on His left, cursed, to depart to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  The sifting factor?  Their service to Jesus.   Both sheep and goats express great surprise at Jesus’ commendation/condemnation for their services rendered to Him.  The sheep just sound befuddled. “Well, yeah, ok, we served the ones You served as You served, but we certainly didn’t see YOU there.”  The goats?  You can just hear the indignation!  “Well, I would have been perfectly willing to serve You, if I’d only seen You, but since I DIDN’T, how is it MY fault that I didn’t serve You?”  In the end, of course, Jesus identifies Himself with those who were served.  What we do (or don’t do) to the “least of these”, we do (or don’t do) to Him.   I can just see the sheep’s brows unfurrow with an “Ohhhhh.  Now I get it.  I had no idea!”

Since we have this story of the sheep to instruct us, however, we don’t have to be like ignorant sheep!  Just as the kids in the youth group finally recognized Pastor Brian’s face in that of an “old woman” in a wheelchair, so, too, we can learn to recognize the face of Jesus in the faces of the “least” around us.  That homeless beggar on the corner?  The young man in the wheelchair, with that vacant stare in his eyes and drool down his chin?  That kid at school who others call names and make fun of?  See the face of Jesus there?  That old woman fumbling for change at the check-out when you’re in a hurry?  That scruffy-looking guy with the tattoos who has to check the “yes” box to the question “Have you ever been convicted of a felony?”?  The old church member in that awful nursing home where the halls stink of urine?  Wherever we see the faces of the poor, the sick, the oppressed, the lonely – we can see the face of Jesus.

How well is your facial recognition software working?