So long as we do not need each other...the Church cannot exist, it cannot disciple, it cannot serve, it cannot love.
"At the bottom of everything" we will see it.
The only place we find ourselves in need, is in poverty.
blessed are the poor (in spirit).
"Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins.
Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.”
Why does this matter...why is this important to Jesus?
Isn't she now completely dependent on God and the Church?
Isn't she now completely vulnerable to the teaching on the mount?
What does this mean for us if it is Truth?
3 comments:
"The only place we find ourselves in need, is in poverty."
Are we implicitly saying that our economic status is our most defining characteristic by affirming this statement? That is, are there not other forms of poverty that are not monetary? Is that what you meant? Not strictly a monetary, but spiritual, psychological, communal poverty?
I've heard many calls for an embrace of poverty (economic) while those same individuals work hard to release the poor from their bondage.
Those of us who argue against capitalism adrift and consumerist/materialist mindset often give those realities as much power as their proponents.
"Are we implicitly saying that our economic status is our most defining characteristic by affirming this statement?"
I do think that economic poverty allows our other types of poverty to be brought into the light.
We love to use our money to self-medicate our spiritual/emotional/philosophical/psychological poverty.
We can even buy the confidence of a professional counselor, or possibly a professional prostitute, depending on our needs, and our finances. Does insurance cover home visits from prostitutes?
The point is, poverty allows us not just to see Truth, but to see the truth about ourselves...because we have less capability to cover up (can't afford lip stick and such)...and we may now have the ability to love and be loved by those who need the same.
"I've heard many calls for an embrace of poverty (economic) while those same individuals work hard to release the poor from their bondage."
I hear what you are saying here...but I do think there is a difference to one who takes a vow of poverty and one who is in bondage to poverty. Is it not valuable to have the freedom to choose poverty or wealth? One must be given the freedom to make this choice (rich or poor).
This, in fact, is where the power lies...choosing powerlessness, choosing poverty.
At least in the lives of St. Francis, Mother Teresa, Gandhi, Jesus, etc.
I am sure you have heard all this (probably from me more than once), so tell me if I am not clarifying well...which, in fact, you just did with your questions.
do it.
thanks for posting this.
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