Charity is a Hallmark of Every Faith Journey
The Relationship with God Includes Blessing the Poor
Dec 19, 2008
From its earliest days, Christianity has been associated with the poor. The first home-based churches cared for the widows and orphans. First generation Christians held property in community and shared. The act of sincere giving was blessed. In Matthew’s Gospel (Chapter 25), Jesus very directly addresses how God’s people should proceed with their spiritual journey through giving. In the story of the “Good Samaritan,” Jesus demonstrated that everyone is our neighbor. The ministry of Jesus always focused on the poor and linked faith with charity.
The Relationship between Poverty and Faith
Three of the most significant Marian apparitions in early modern and modern history identified directly with the poor. Juan Diego was a poor Mexican peasant, Bernadette came from a poor family whose father was often unemployed, and the children at Fatima had a background of poverty. In most recent times, the poor village of Medjugorje experienced Marian visitations. On a spiritual level, in all instances the recipients of miraculous blessings had only their faith to bring to the altar of glory.
Mother Teresa spent most of her life tending the poor in India and set a selfless example of what it means to live out faith. One of the greatest saints of Christianity, Francis of Assisi, made poverty his bride and endeavored to follow the example of Jesus completely by living on God’s daily bread. These men and women are role models, principally of an attitude of poverty that flows out of a faith commitment.
We are always reminded that the accumulation of wealth, which so often detracts from Christian priorities, is not sinful of itself as long as we use what has been given to us to help those in need. Thus in Matthew 25 Jesus states that he will gather the nations before him and then “separate them from one another.” In this, Jesus speaks of nations. While individual people make up nations, the theme here refers to both individual and national stewardship.
To invite the stranger in, to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked – all of these actions are treated as fundamentals arising out of the relationship with God through Christ. They are not options. What is also significant is that Jesus uses the example of sheep and goats. There is no middle ground. One cannot serve “two masters,” as Jesus said earlier in Matthew. Much as modern society seeks to compromise and “see both sides of an issue,” the relationship of faith and the poor, “the least of them,” is without middle ground.
The Universality of Giving as Part of Faith
Christianity is not alone in focusing the faith life on giving. In Islam, giving alms (zakat) is one of the Five Pillars of the faith life. Zakat refers to growing in goodness as well as “purifying” wealth by giving. This association is rich in spiritual truth.
In Matthew 24 and 25, Jesus spoke of the end times, that period immediately preceding the “Day of the Lord.” There would be rich nations and poor nations, rich people and poor people. How the rich responded and reacted to those in great need was a measure of their faith. Jesus identified himself with the both the sheep and with those that were the least. In Calcutta, Mother Teresa frequently showed her visitors the streets of the city, teeming with poverty, and exclaimed, “This is Jesus.”
 |
