The Poor and Poverty!

Sunday, February 16, 2025

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jer 17:5-8; 1 Cor 15:12, 16-20; Lk 6:17, 20-26

The sixth Sunday invites us to find God as the anchor of our lives. 

The readings of the day underline the blessing of reliance on God and the poverty of relying on humans. 

The first reading highlights two ways of living: trusting in human strength and trusting in the Lord. It helps us realize the truth that the inability to trust in God is poverty in itself, and a godless life is the worst form of poverty that we impose on ourselves than its material dimension. However, while a godless life might lead to isolation and impoverishment, a life rooted in God leads to abundance and prosperity. In other words, when God becomes the source of our lives, they are transformed like the life of a tree planted beside the waters. The two kinds of living are contrasted through two different imageries: a barren bush and a tree planted by water. It is good to note that while a godless condition will be like the ‘bush,’ a plant characteristic of barren and wilderness terrain, a life in God will be like the ‘tree’ planted beside the water while its roots stretch out to the stream. While the former becomes a metaphor for a wasted existence, the latter becomes the symbol of a blessed life whereby even the ‘hidden roots of the tree’ benefit from living in God consciousness. In sum, the text prompts a self-examination to see what becomes our life’s anchor: God or humans.

In the second reading, Paul treats poverty and richness from the point of view of Christian faith in resurrection. While highlighting Christ’s resurrection as something foundational for the Christian faith, Paul shows that the richness of the Christian faith lies in accepting the truth of Christ’s resurrection, and spiritual dryness comes as a result of its denial. Here, Paul infuses hope by citing Christ’s resurrection as foreshadowing the future resurrection of all believers. In addition, Paul gives the assurance that for Christians, death is not the end but a transition to eternal life, which was prefigured in the resurrection of Christ. 

The Gospel highlights the sermon on the plain. This text is significant as it helps us with a Christian view of the poor and poverty. It should be clear at the outset that Jesus does not glorify poverty but highlights the blessings of having God as the anchor of our lives. As such, if those who suffer material poverty find God as their only refuge, those who accept spiritual poverty embrace a condition of life that solely relies on God. Both groups choose God as their ultimate source and support. Here, the reversal of fortune that Jesus promises is the assurance that God accompanies humans in their suffering and misfortune, with or without them realizing it. For Jesus, the Divine solidarity in human misery reflects God’s love. 

On the contrary, Jesus demonstrates that the very blessings of God in terms of joy, abundance, and greatness turn into curses when we tend to use them only for our selfish gains, overlooking any form of charity. This is why the Church Fathers ordered Christians to ‘call nothing your [their] own’ to emphasize most strongly the duty of sharing the goods of the earth. To this end, the early Church often used the term ‘goods of the poor’ to indicate the patrimony of the Church. It believed: ‘We have no wealth of our own, but the care and administration of the goods of the poor have been confided to us.’ As such, Tertullian described the voluntary offerings of the Christians as ‘trust funds of piety’ that were strictly reserved and used for works of charity. 

The readings of the day challenge us with some profound insights for action. 

Sense of Self-Sufficiency: A right sense of self-sufficiency leads one to God, while a misunderstanding of it eliminates God from our lives. Anything that does not promote the love of God and the love of neighbors is both false and dangerous. When our lives are lived from the perspective of God, we turn to our fellow humans and make their suffering ours. This virtue makes us godly and helps us find our inner strength. 

Sharing and Almsgiving: Poverty alleviation is central to the patristic literature and turns it into a personal responsibility of every Christian. St. Ambrose of Milan preached that almsgiving on the part of the avaricious is nothing but restitution of stolen goods and giving to the poor is simply giving them their due. He wrote, ‘You are not making a gift of your possessions to the poor person. You are handing over to him what is his.’ Similarly, John Chrysostom distinguished between wealth, which is God’s gift, and ruthless greed, which makes ownership sinful: ‘Those I attack are not the rich as such, only those who misuse their wealth…Wealth is one thing, covetousness is another.’ Charity is another name for Christianity. 

Love and Justice: Today’s Gospel on riches and poverty helps us distinguish between the Christian understanding of love and justice. In the New Testament, love is the centripetal social principle. Justice, of course, is not rejected as a principle governing all social relationships but is transcended. Love is God’s justice that surpasses human conceptions of justice. If we understand justice as giving each his/her due, God proclaims love by giving Himself, His very life. Hence, the God of Justice is above all a God of Love. 

Let us pray that we may find our richness in God and our virtue of generosity. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar