Feb 16, 2019

6th Sunday: "What's so good about being poor?"



"Blessed are you who are poor . . ."

Luke 6: 17, 20-26


There is a wonderful story told about the third century Roman martyr and Deacon St. Lawrence.  The Roman Emperor Valerian decided that it was time to put to death all Bishops, Priest and Deacons of the Christian Church in Rome and to confiscate all the wealth of the Church.  St. Lawrence had been given responsibility to oversee all the wealth of the local Church and to care for the poor in their need. The Emperor captured him but before killing him he gave Lawrence three days to gather all the wealth of the Church and to turn it over to the Emperor.

So Lawrence immediately began to distribute all the possessions and property of the church to the poor.  On the third day he appears before the Emperor and turned to gesture back to the door through which poured crowds of the poor, the destitute, the sick, the blind and the crippled. He said to the Emperor: “These are the treasures of the Church and the Church is far richer than the Emperor.”  You can imagine what happened next and St. Lawrence has been honored as a courageous and insightful early Roman martyr.

If we were given a choice between being rich or poor, I have no doubt that the vast majority of us would choose rich. It just seems to bring fewer worries in life and having unlimited wealth will create a kind of fairy tale existence. We are saturated with the mantra that wealth is a kind of blessing that everyone should pursue. It seems to be the whole purpose of life, actually. But that would be false indeed as St. Lawrence reminded us.  

In the time of Jesus the tags of poor and rich were quite different than today.  The poor were powerless to do anything about their lot like orphans and widows.  They lived weighed down by their socially unfortunate fate.  There was no hope for a better future and no opportunity for advancement. Meanwhile the rich became rich because they had the power to take wealth away from those who were not able to defend themselves.  In the ancient world power was the means of attaining wealth.  You can imagine what this did to society as a whole.  So greed was a not uncommon way of life and many suffered as a result of it.

Our Gospel this Sunday challenges us on much of this.  Although social conditions in the time of Jesus were extreme compared to now the temptation for power, advantage, and greed has not left us. But, is it wrong to be wealthy?  Ask the winner of a lottery jackpot if they think their unexpected luck was unfortunate. Money is just money it’s we who make choices that affect others for either good or ill. That power of free will is what Jesus may indirectly be addressing in the Gospel.  So it’s not wealth that is wrong but how we use it greatly matters for people of faith. There is a moral side to wealth and advantage the poor do not have.

Unlike Matthew, Luke has Jesus more direct and concrete in his accounting of Jesus’ Beatitudes. The “poor in spirit” become the “poor.” Blessed are the poor and “woe” to the rich!  Jesus comes down from the heights and addresses the crowd on a level stretch.  In Matthew, Jesus goes up and so it becomes the sermon on the “mount.” Luke’s concern for the poor and their condition is one Jesus identifies with.  So, here Jesus comes down to them; he lowers himself to their condition and embraces it as his own.

These beatitudes in Luke become both a blessing and a warning. The blessing is to say to those who are poor not because you are poor but because you’ve suffered greatly God has a reward waiting for you.  The Gospel does not praise poverty so much as it condemns greed.  Poverty in the ancient world was brought about by the greed of others who took everything for themselves leaving nothing for most.  Jesus reminds those unfortunate to have hope because God has not forgotten you or dismisses you like others.  Rather, he bestows a special honor on you and will provide more than you imagine. You are a treasure before God who does not forget you. Our Lord brought words of great hope to a people who were hopeless. This is not the only place we hear of the heart of God from Jesus.   

Remember the story of the beggar names Lazarus who begged right outside the door step of the wealthy man (Lk 16: 19 - 31).  That man did nothing to alleviate the condition of Lazarus; he knew he was right outside his door and simply ignored him.  After they both died the tables were turned. 

Recall Jesus scene of the last judgement in Matthew’s Gospel when the sheep and goats are separated (Mt 25: 31-46).  I was hungry and you fed me; thirsty and you gave me drink; naked and you clothed me . . .” etec.  We are called to generosity not to greed.  It’s not all for me but given as gift for everyone and our salvation depends on this. In fact as Christians this responsibility to give away is not optional for any of us to be authentic followers of Jesus.

Now, we could immediately go to the principles of social justice and that would not be inappropriate of course.  We must care for the human needs of others in ways of compassion and mercy. And, on a broad level, like the plain Jesus came to address the crowds, this fundamental principle of fairness and justice can be applied across the board as it were.  Which does not mean that the rich should give it all away but rather recognize the opportunity before them to use wealth for the good of others.

Our first reading from Jeremiah has the outspoken prophet wasting no words.  He speaks of “Cursed is the one who trusts in human beings, who seeks his strength in flesh.”   But, “Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is the Lord.” If we lay our ultimate trust on the things of God and not the things of this world as if this is the ultimate meaning and purpose of life, then we will be blessed. 

Our faith compels us to do good for others. To share, to give, to remember those who have little of what we have been fortunate enough to acquire.  If God is truly the center of our lives, and we see our faith as a great treasure, then material wealth a
is not something that we have acquired merely through our own genius as if nothing was more important.  Our faith moves us to believe that if I give away a portion of what I have for the benefit of others God will still care for me because as Jeremiah reminds us: “Blessed in the one who trusts in the Lord.”  The sin of indifference is one that the prophets and Jesus himself reminds us is deadly.  

At times the Scriptures comfort us and other times they call us to discomfort.  Today’s readings are the latter.  Our discomfort may well be a sign that we need to open up and let go, not holding on to stuff as if it were the end all and be all of life.  There is no justification for indifference to the suffering of others. The treasure of our faith is given as gift to bring us to greater holiness.

Jesus offers himself to us in the Eucharist when he gave it all away for our salvation.   

Open our eyes
to the needs of our brothers and sisters;
inspire in us words and actions
to comfort those who labor and are burdened,
Make us serve them truly,
after example of Christ and at his command.
And may your church stand as a living witness
to truth and freedom,
to peace and justice,
that all people may be raised up
to a new hope.

(4th Eucharistic Prayer for Various Needs:
Jesus, who went about doing good)

Roman Missal



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