Tuesday, April 20, 2004
Continuing my thoughts about Jesus as Divine Mercy, I was reminded of the following Bible passage:
This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; Setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own. Isaiah 58:6,7
This is one of my favorite passages, because it reiterates so much that Jesus taught himself, and what the church reiterates: care for those in need. Take care of the oppressed.
This is how God wants us to behave: to live justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God.
Jesus tells us that we should be going about giving when we don't expect return, otherwise we haven't grown beyond the goodness of people who aren't particularly holy. Yet in this day and age, it is so easy to turn our backs. We see the poor on our own streets as threats - substance abusers, psychiatric problems, potential thieves, murderers, rapists. This feeling has probably has been somewhat true throughout history. But no matter what the reality of such fears, God really doesn't give us any slack here - we are still told to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give drink to the thirsty. We don't really have any excuses.
How do we get a handle on this? In our culture of plenty, caring for the needy, except in strictly regulated ways is considered weird, strange, or perhaps even a vice. Can we rise above self and group and start seeing, as Mother Teresa would say, "Jesus in the distressing guise of the poor?" Are we really willing to face Jesus at the last judgement and say, "But Lord, those people were dirty and needed medicine they wouldn't take. If I gave stuff to them, they'd just go and buy another bottle of wine. I was frightened for my children, so I worked for that amendment that took away their rights to camp out or panhandle. No, I didn't support the halfway house, and I only gave support on those special occasions, like if the boy scouts came by and I had some worn-out clothes I could give."
This is something we all can ponder - I know I too fall far shorter than I would like at this.
This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; Setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own. Isaiah 58:6,7
This is one of my favorite passages, because it reiterates so much that Jesus taught himself, and what the church reiterates: care for those in need. Take care of the oppressed.
This is how God wants us to behave: to live justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God.
Jesus tells us that we should be going about giving when we don't expect return, otherwise we haven't grown beyond the goodness of people who aren't particularly holy. Yet in this day and age, it is so easy to turn our backs. We see the poor on our own streets as threats - substance abusers, psychiatric problems, potential thieves, murderers, rapists. This feeling has probably has been somewhat true throughout history. But no matter what the reality of such fears, God really doesn't give us any slack here - we are still told to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give drink to the thirsty. We don't really have any excuses.
How do we get a handle on this? In our culture of plenty, caring for the needy, except in strictly regulated ways is considered weird, strange, or perhaps even a vice. Can we rise above self and group and start seeing, as Mother Teresa would say, "Jesus in the distressing guise of the poor?" Are we really willing to face Jesus at the last judgement and say, "But Lord, those people were dirty and needed medicine they wouldn't take. If I gave stuff to them, they'd just go and buy another bottle of wine. I was frightened for my children, so I worked for that amendment that took away their rights to camp out or panhandle. No, I didn't support the halfway house, and I only gave support on those special occasions, like if the boy scouts came by and I had some worn-out clothes I could give."
This is something we all can ponder - I know I too fall far shorter than I would like at this.
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