"I'm hungry"

in the Bible, there's a part where Jesus is talking about the end, and all people would be gathered and God would look to the people at His right and say "When I was hungry, you fed me. When I was naked, you clothed me. When I was sick and alone, you took care of me and stayed with me." (paraphrased) and they asked Him: "Lord, when did we do these things?" The answer? "What you have done unto the least of these, you have done unto me." The reverse of this is also true: What you haven't done unto the least of these, you haven't done for Jesus.
my heart is hurting, you see. i see this picture in my mind of a woman sitting alone on a park bench. i feel despair in her gaze and posture. i hear her words like a knife in my heart: "Can you help me? ...I'm hungry." in Calcutta we were told to ignore street beggars when they asked for money, because "it would do more harm than good"... if that's exactly true or not, i'm not sure. but i wasn't in Calcutta, and no one was there to make that decision for me. this was walking in Philly, on a gorgeous, crisp fall day; and there was no ignoring those words. they echo in my head even now.
thinking back on the situation... she lied. she didn't want food. we tried to give food. i lied too. i said i had no money. she said she just needed to get home. i asked how she would get home... she said she was homeless. and as soon as the change in my and another's pocket left our hands, our presence was no more acknowledged by this woman. it was like we were no longer there.
more than anything, i'd like to 'feel' good about this situation. i'd like to look back and say i did everything i could have possibly done, that i hadn't lied about money, that i was going about this purely to love someone and not to assauge my concience. what do i know anyway? more than anything i'd like to see the woman on the bench smiling, filled with more than food, happy with more than money. Jesus... today i heard you speaking... and i tried to help... but my assesment on what help is, in reality, is maybe not always the way i see help... i saw Jesus today and i cannot forget HIM.