December 21st 2009

I’ve been listening to a few podcasts from what Bethyl likes to call “my men in a box”. This morning two separate speakers were both focusing on giving to the poor as being the heart of the gospel. “If you do not leave all that you have behind, you are not worthy to be called my disciples…” These are hard words for me. What do they actually mean? Like Francis of Assisi-- leave the rich clothing-merchant father’s house; strip naked; walk away to fulfill his destiny? Or live the life of the “righteous rich” and give wisely here and there to those within my narrow circle of influence? I am also piqued in my spirit by this poem, and am pondering its meaning also in the same vein:

Christmas Poor

You are the caller; you are the poor.
You are the stranger at my door.
You are the wanderer, the unfed;
You are the homeless with no bed.
You are the man driven insane.
You are the child crying in pain.
You are the other who comes to me.
If I open to another, You’re born in me.
--from The Edge of Glory, by David Adam

Dear Lord, give the wisdom to effectively be your arms and legs, your mouthpiece, your body on this planet. Teach me to live within my limits but unselfishly so. I invite you, reader, to comment what this means to you.