“In Matthew, Jesus–the Way, the Truth and the Life–says, “I tell you solemnly, insofar as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me” (25:40, italics mine).
Placing absolute trust in this living Word, St. Cuthbert, having just received a beautiful horse from the king because the former is limping and aging, rides down the road, sees a ragged beggar, and gives him the horse. Word reaches the king. He is angry.
At their next meeting the king says to Cuthbert, “I gave you a magnificent horse and you squandered it on a worthless beggar. I should have given you a sorry old mare.”
“Ah, my beloved king,” says Cuthbert, “you value the son of a thoroughbred more than you value the son of God.”
St. Cuthbert (c. 634-687) monk, bishop and hermit associated with the monasteries of Melrose and Lindisfarne, as retold in Ruthless Trust by Brennan Manning (New York: HarperCollins, 2000) 167-168.