Word to the Wise
Wednesday, September 10, 2008 - Wednesday in the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Corinthians 7:25-31 and Luke 20-26]Raising his eyes toward his disciples, Jesus said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours......
In the Gospel of Luke, words that we associate with the "sermon on the mount" in the Gospel of Matthew are delivered as the "sermon on the plain!" Unlike the sermon on the mount, however, the sermon on the plain has a set of "curses" that match the set of "beatitudes" that come first. The fundamental difference, however, is the setting. On the "mount" Jesus becomes the new Moses who gives a law to be lived. On the plain, Jesus is addressing the community has it exists at the time of the writing of the gospel. This community includes poor, hungry, sorrowing, alienated people, who are reminded that they share the fate of the great prophets who were beloved of God. The community also included wealthy, well-fed, content and prestigious people. Jesus warns them of the dangers that can come of this state of affairs: complacency, insensitivity to those who lack necessary food, shelter, emotional comfort...... In short, we are given a sample of what is meant by "the preferential option for the poor" that has characterized the Church's preaching about social justice in the past and especially in the last forty years since the Second Vatican Council. The obligation to "share the wealth" (a term politicized by populist politicians like Huey Long and Robert LaFollette) was considered part of the social fabric in Jesus' day. A person who had "more" was expected to share a portion with those less well-off. It wasn't a matter of egalitarianism but rather of recognizing that wealth was a gift from God and by its very nature should not be hoarded. What do we think is "necessary" for human well-being in our day? What should be the moral and spiritual obligation of someone who has more than is necessary toward those who have less? This question has caused violent revolution in some places! Perhaps it could cause a "revolution in our individual way of living if we were to ask it honestly of ourselves. If we can get others to join us in this discernment, it might change a community. Dare we to hope it could change the world? AMEN
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