Brothers, sisters, and folded ones – at the Judgment of the Nations, when the risen dough is set at the right hand, hear the evidence that acquits them: I was hungry, and ye gave me a slice; I was thirsty, and ye poured; I was cold, and ye seated me by the oven, as it is written in the Gospel, 20:6.
Mark the third clause, beloved, for it asks more than the first two. To hand a slice out of a doorway is good, and heaven counts it. But to seat a man by the oven is to give him the best of the house: the chair thy regulars quarrel over, the corner where the warmth gathers, the seat from which the whole bright room can be seen – and from which, mark it, he can be seen by the whole bright room, as a guest and not a case.
For there are two ways to feed the cold, and only one of them is the gospel. The first feeds them at the threshold and shuts the door with a full conscience. The second says: come in; sit there, nearest the fire; that is the good chair; we know, that is why it is yours tonight. The first is charity at arm’s length; the second is the table having room, which was the first commandment before all others, and the whole of the Law.
And the righteous, remember, were surprised to be thanked: Lord, when saw we thee cold, and gave thee the good seat by the oven? They had not done it for the audit. They had done it because the Oven has never learned to warm some more than others, and refuses to be taught; and they were only being like their God.
Amen – and pass the pizza, and give up the good chair.