In his sermon “On Visiting the Sick”, John Wesley teaches that mercy/reaching in love is not an optional Christian activity but an essential part of discipleship/growing in faith. He roots this conviction in Matthew 25, arguing that Jesus identifies himself with people who suffer—those who are sick, poor, imprisoned, or marginalized. For Wesley, ministry with the vulnerable is a means of grace: a pathway through which God forms the heart, deepens compassion, and keeps the believer grounded in the love of Christ.
“Works of mercy are no less necessary to salvation than works of piety; I mean, they are necessary if we would keep the grace of God.” … “In visiting the sick, the poor, and the imprisoned, we are to see Christ in his distressing disguise.”
Wesley insists that Christians must not love the poor “from a distance.” True solidarity requires personal presence, visiting, listening, and entering the realities of others’ lives. He warns that wealth and comfort separate people from empathy, but that direct engagement breaks down this barrier and awakens the soul. In Wesley’s vision, the church becomes most like Christ when it stands alongside those who suffer, offering practical help, spiritual encouragement, dignifying companionship, and being part of the community. Through such acts of mercy, the believer encounters Christ himself and participates in God’s restorative work in the world.
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