“Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and didn’t do anything to help you’ Then he will answer, ‘I assure you that when you haven’t done it for one of the least of these, you haven’t done it for me.’  And they will go away into eternal punishment.  But the righteous ones will go into eternal life.”  Matthew 25:44-46

As I drove home last Sunday from Zion United Methodist Church in Mendota, IL, after preaching from this  assigned text, I listened to broadcast accounts of the NATO Summit in Chicago and the resulting protests. I even received texts from one of the many officers who were required to work days consecutive days of 12 hour shifts. Over 3,100 Chicago police officers gathered not only from the nearly 14,000 sworn Chicago Police Department but also from Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Illinois State Police, along with trained Sharp-Shooters perched atop Chicago buildings to protect NATO delegations and property of area businesses. By “most” media accounts things were going well, though many protesters would rigorously dispute that claim, as would some independent media.

Now NATO is over.  Many have applauded Police Chief Garry McCarthy for being “on the streets with his officers rather than riding around in a limousine with smoked windows”.  Others claim that the city has come out from under the cloud of disgrace from the 1968 Democratic Convention and the graphic images of police brutality.

This weekend, however, there is little attention being paid to the rampant violence in Chicago.

In less than 24 hours, from late Saturday to the wee hours of Sunday morning, over 25 people have been wounded including a 6 year old girl who was shot.  One person was killed as Chicago’s own citizens are forced to drive themselves to emergency rooms due to inadequate services and the absence of quality trauma units in the city.

This week the Fraternal Order of Police, the same ones who received praise along with free White Sox tickets, have filed their fourth grievance against the city for the extra days worked and the expected compensatory time they are being denied.  Our prayers and concern should be not only for them but also for the citizens living with inadequate services amidst violence (sometimes at the hands of the police) when the when the eyes of the world are not upon us. And our prayers and concerns should be for those who face life without the concerted efforts of those who with precision and coordination protected  property and potentates.  In other words, our prayers, our concerns and our actions should be directed to the least of these.

Peace, Salaam, Shalom