"Lord, when did we see you a stranger,
and did not welcome you?"
Not the only ones to come
that day
to Tuy Hoa -
but they came,
that man and lady,
footsore and weary,
sickened and hungry.
With eight hundred more
they came
to that tumble-down camp
of two-and-a-half thousand.
"These people must learn
to grow their own food,
to build their economy
and reconstruct society."
Lord, when did we see you hungry,
and did not feed you?"
Two little children
from next door
or down the street -
shabby clothes,
untidy hair,
living in dirt
and unhappiness.
"If only their dad didn't drink,
if only he could stick at his job,
if only their mum spent money more wisely,
if only..."
Lord, when did we see you naked,
or sick, or in prison,
and did not minister to you?"
"Inasmuch as you did it not
to one of the least of these,
you did it not to me."