So we’ve finished our
discussion of money and now lead into a discussion on poverty. Now we
understand that Poverty is not in and of itself a bad thing, rather is
something can lead us to God. Poverty has become a huge talking point in our
society today as we find ourselves with more and more poverty-stricken families
than in the years past. We have seen the War on Poverty, and the government try
to alleviate poverty through the use of programs and other such benefits that
are supposedly used by the people to help them provide for their families.
Christ said that we would always have the poor with us, and that we needed to
take care of them. We see this with the apostles appointing the first deacons
of the church, of which St. Stephen was one. We see churches reaching out and
providing assistance to people when they are in need. Poverty is a blessing in many ways let’s look
at what St. John has to say about this, and continue on.
St. John says, “Great is
he who piously renounces possessions, but holy is he who renounces his will.
The one will receive a hundredfold, either in money or in graces, but the other
will inherit eternal life.” In my last article I used a few quotes from this
rung as well, as it had a lot of information in it that tied into the
discussion of love of money. Here I will once again be trying to formulate the
truth that goes along with poverty and how we should react to the gift God is
giving us. God provides for us with the ability to have poverty in our lives,
both monetary and spiritual poverty so as for us to rely on Him. When we are
sick with spiritual poverty, we should turn to the Lord and ask him for faith,
praying and giving all the glory to him. It’s like reading one of my previous
posts about how to react to God’s call. Will we simply run and flee, or will we
embrace it, using the time we are given to praise and worship God with no
thought for the consequences? I myself have been in a bout of spiritual poverty
lately, and though there were definitely moments when I chose to reject the
gift that God was giving me, that time has passed. I am now openly embracing
this opportunity God has given me in my life to use for His glory. Not for my
own. I choose not to even think about giving myself earthly glory, instead
waiting for God to use me to help further His Kingdom. Choosing to surrender
myself to Him was the best decision of my life. Those who have wealth and a
love of money have a deep spiritual poverty, one in which they choose not to
rely on God. They openly mock His commandments, they refuse to accept the
teachings of Christ, and they choose not to have any sort of dealings with
those who do accept Christ. We see this throughout Hollywood today and
throughout the world with rich people rarely attending Church and if they do,
it is seen as a publicity stunt to garner more fame and recognition from the
Christian populace. The church has a different story, one in which the rich
boldly embraced Christ and one that is full of the mystery and grace of God. I
am of course talking about Zacchaeus. That wee little man
We see here, that
Zacchaeus was a publican, like Matthew, who was desperately seeking the Kingdom
of God. Zacchaeus was so desperate, that he climbed the sycamore tree. When he
did Jesus saw his faith, and rewarded him for his faith. In doing so, He dined
with him. Zacchaeus gave away his wealth, taking away the spiritual poverty of
his soul, but taking on physical and monetary poverty. We know from later
traditions that he followed Christ everywhere and eventually followed Peter
after the resurrection. When he did, they stopped in Caesarea, where he was
appointed bishop by Peter. Zacchaeus gave up everything in search of the
Kingdom of God. How much are we willing to sacrifice? I would say very little
especially when we wont even become stewards of the church God gave us. We hold
onto our spiritual poverty and search for monetary wealth. Our wealth is the
Kingdom of God. Jesus Christ died and
rose again not for us to have lots of things like Joel Osteen says, but rather
for us to have God living inside of us, uniting the mortal with the divine. In
doing this, we as St. John says, “Some have burned much wood with a small fire;
and with the help of one virtue some have escaped all the passions just
mentioned. This virtue is called detachment, and it is born of experience and a
taste of God and meditation on the account to be given at death.”
In all honesty it is a simple thing to explain, we give
up our spiritual wealth for that of this world. We surrender ourselves not to a
spiritual father, but rather to an earthly master. Our souls hang in the
balance like a thread, one that is dangling above our heads at every hour. The
more we try to fight our way to salvation the more we lose it. When we give all
to Christ for the sake of his Kingdom we obtain the gifts of the Holy Spirit
and live with unwavering faith. The choice now dear brothers and sisters is up
to you. Will you stand for God when he comes with his saints and angels to
judge both living and the dead? Or will you flee from his face as an enemy?
Will you melt or will you stand firm. I am calling you all now to repent and
openly express the spiritual poverty in your lives and confess to the Almighty
God that you need his light in your soul. For it will matter on judgement day.
Amen
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