When Being Poor is a Good Thing

This week I was thinking of the ways we have been affected by the life of one man who lived 2000 years ago. I was not so much thinking of the sociological and political changes brought about by Christ’s followers but on His teachings.  

The main block of teaching that Jesus gives is something we have called the “sermon on the mount”. He probably gave the same message in numerous places and times but several of the gospels recall it being given to a large crowd on a hill. The message He gave starts out with a memorable set of values called the ‘beatitudes’. People remember them because they repeat the phrase “blessed are” over and over.

The beatitudes have both comforted and challenged us as a race for almost 2000 years and they seem as relevant and keen now as they ever did. They give us goals to shoot for and push back against a culture that tells us to put ourselves first in all things.  

The first value Jesus gives is that being poor is a good thing – “blessed are the poor” He says. At first glance it seems to be a let down for those of us looking for life tips like “fifteen ways to make your career exciting and successful”. I might have expected “blessed are those who schedule their time wisely” or something like that. But there it is. Jesus is taking me to an uncomfortable place right away. I am not poor by most standards and if you live up here in oil country chances are that you are not either.  I don’t typically see the underprivileged as somehow fortunate and as a group of people to be imitated. Quite the contrary, so how are they ‘blessed’?

Jesus is saying that you should aim to be as spiritually hungry as a poor person is naturally. The poor need to rely on God. It isn’t something they do as a hobby on Sundays. Wealth makes us feel secure and confident, while poverty makes us feel needy. Once our needs are met we tend to stop looking to God for help.  Our lives go on just fine without Him.  Catholic writer Monika Hellwig lists several other benefits of poverty that we should consider imitating:

1. The poor know not only their dependence on God and on powerful people but also their interdependence with one another.

2. The poor rest their security not on things but on people.

3. The fears of the poor are more realistic and less exaggerated, because they already know that one can survive great suffering and want.

4. The poor can respond to the call of the Gospel with a certain abandonment and uncomplicated totality because they have so little to lose and are ready for anything.[1]

This might sound like a strange value, but the poor have an enviable feeling of powerlessness. They have a recognition of their inability to save themselves. Obviously her points do not describe every person who is in want, yet they give insight into why this is some sort of blessing.

I think it also helps to consider the opposite value that our culture gives us. Perhaps the world's beatitude would read, "Blessed are you when you are rich and secure.  When your house is paid off, when you drive a nice car you can easily afford and can vacation in beautiful places. Blessed are those who have cultivated a deep feeling of power and confidence in all things.” I would not say those things are evil, but that they take our hearts in such a different direction than Jesus does.

His words impact us differently depending on where we are in life. The poor read them and feel that they can stop feeling bad about not having enough and take pride that their situation is a sort of advantage. Those who are comfortable in their faith feel called to jump over a higher bar. Even those who do not normally care much for religion can’t help but admire the message of this humble saviour.

Sometimes when I open the Bible I feel like I get a shock. I am expecting to be entertained or comforted and instead I am challenged to change my thinking. Even writing this now I feel as though my own heart calls me after the world’s value much closer than Christ’s. I do not expect to reach the perspective He has without the Holy Spirit’s help, but I can’t help thinking that I have a long way to go. 

             

By Jason Gayoway

Published Februar 20, 2014

http://www.dailyheraldtribune.com/2014/02/20/when-being-poor-is-a-good-thing

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[1] Monika Hellwig, “Good News to the Poor. Do they understand it Better?” in Tracing the Spirit, 145.

Would Jesus go to an Eskimos Game?

The title of my article is ‘Would Jesus go to an Eskimos game?’ However, having just been to an Eskimos game last month I think a more appropriate title would be ‘Can even Jesus get good parking near Commonwealth? My suspicion is that he might if he had $15 in his pocket and was still willing to walk several blocks.

Anyhow, as I picture myself sitting there watching the game there are some reasons why I have trouble seeing the Saviour sitting next to me. The first objection is the violence inherent in football. If I look at sports in general I have an easier time imagining Jesus playing badminton than football. One imagines that the more violent a sport the less likely Christ is to approve of it.

However, is it possible to play a violent sport and still not sin? I suppose the sin is the anger one feels at an opponent and the intent to cause harm. Yet I do not have to get angry to be a good player. In fact, some feel that losing your cool makes you less effective on the field. Just look at that red-faced defensive end getting his second roughing call of the night for an example. Also, tackling someone does mean that I intend to hurt them. There are a few bad apples who want to injure their opponents but it is unfair to say that everyone wants or needs to do so.

When I thought about this more a picture came to me of Jesus as a player. Imagine for a moment that the disciples organized an impromptu soccer game while everyone was cleaning up after Jesus fed the 5000.  I know that soccer as such was not invented until much later, but bear with me. There they are running around trying to move the ball forward and having a good time. Can I imagine that Jesus would jump in there with them? If he did, would he stop the game the moment someone bumped him to get a better position or would he just laugh and bump them back? I’ll trust you to decide for yourself but I feel that he would keep playing.

That sort of spirit kind of answers my second objection. When I was a kid, they sold all sorts of snacks and drinks at sports events but today all they seem to sell is beer. I know I can find soft drinks and hamburgers down in the concessions but the people walking up the aisles only sold beer. I didn’t have a breathalyser but it seemed to me that a number of the spectators had more than their fair share of the devil’s brew. Would a man completely free from sin feel OK about going to such an event?

Setting aside for a moment that Jesus turned water into wine not non-alcoholic grape juice and so did not object to alcohol, I would still say that he would go. You might remember that he was accused of hanging out with ‘sinners’ and tax collectors. He went to where the people who needed God hung out. There is no mention of him inviting them to a nice clean church so it seems logical to assume that he went to their parties. I never went to the party of an ancient tax collector, but I hear they were pretty rowdy. If he was willing to do that to gain a fair hearing for the gospel I think he would probably not freak out when he saw a man in green and gold on his fourth overpriced Coors.

The final objection to Jesus attending a football game is that the whole thing is sort of a waste of time and money. Even though the Esks are winning this year, football does not make humanity any better and the money given to pad the wallets of overpaid players is probably needed for more worthy causes.   

Well, I can’t think of any rebuttals to those two points. But the title of the article isn’t, “If Jesus was in control of everything, would He shut down football”, it’s about whether he would go to a game that was already scheduled. I’m not sure he would spend the coin just for the entertainment but he would probably go with a few friends in order to build relationships. Sports have a way of making connections between people even if they are from different countries, different economic levels, etc.

Watching Mike Reilly run through the Bomber defence gives us something to talk about and that talking brings people together. If the Lord knew nothing about that I think he would miss out on the friendship that friendly banter brings. People don’t want to talk about deep things until they have had a chance to talk about the weather and who won last night’s game. If you get all weird when they bring up sports they will not feel comfortable around you. So in a nutshell I think Jesus would go to an Esks game, though I’m not sure He would paint a big “E” on his chest.

By Jason Gayoway

Published in The Daily Herald Tribune August 14, 2014  

http://www.dailyheraldtribune.com/2014/08/14/would-jesus-go-to-an-eskimos-game