K
kentuckyliz
Guest
Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever!
I received an answer to prayer today…seeking to do a mitzvah for the poor, face to face, not just writing checks.
I’ve been praying the Scriptures in a way that’s dangerous to complacency…dig out your Bibles if you want a sword plunged into your heart…
The rich fool, building bigger barns Lk 12:16-21
Sermon on the Mount Mt 5-7 (particularly the mutual dynamic of generosity toward others and trusting in divine providence rather than stuff or money)
Luke’s version of the Beatitudes–with corresponding woes Lk 6 (the woes are vv. 24-26)–rich/well-fed/laughing/powerful (=me) vs. poor/hungry/mourning/powerless (=my mitzvah person)–who thinks they’re blessed, and who thinks they’re cursed, vs. who is truly blessed, and upon whom is the woe pronounced? (Then read the letter to the church in Laodicea in Rev.)
Even Mary’s Magnificat in Lk 1–casting down the conceited powerful and lifting up the lowly, the hungry he has filled with good things and the rich he has sent empty away…
And then these three parables/stories, and imagine that the rich man is the same person in the first two, and Lazarus is the same person in the last two…
The rich young man/official that went away sad Lk 18:18-23
and Mk 10:17-22
The rich man and Lazarus Lk 16:19-31
The raising of Lazarus Jn 11:1-44
And…Mt 25 the judgement of the nations (like our song says, whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me)
Jesus said, the poor you will always have with you.
So I have been praying a lot on these. Sword to the soul.
Well, today I had a surprising and accidental opportunity to do my mitzvah, and I won’t go into great details for your human respect and thereby lose the reward of the Father who sees in secret.
I will just say, that when the footwashing Christ in you comes out, sometimes those feet are smelly and it’s inconvenient and even scary, and you have to take prudent risks and go out of your way and spend some money, and the poor are not an easy problem to be solved if only they would just think and act like us nice middle class people!!! and they aren’t always the halo-covered, polite, grateful poor like the Cratchits in Charles Dickens’ Christmas story, and it’s not always emotionally satisfying.
BUT the Holy Spirit burns within you, giving you compassion for another who is different, and the Spirit compels you to become the Samaritan and take responsibility for the care of another whom the world considers scary and icky…just don’t look, keep driving by, lock the doors.
And, spending time with this person, means coming to see the physical and emotional wounds this person bears, beyond the obvious material needs on the surface. The needy, wounded Christ in the other brings out the footwashing Christ in you.
My heart is broken for my mitzvah person, who is on my prayer list forever and who deserves the first seat at the banquet; and thank you, dear sweet Jesus, for entering into my life today in this way and giving me this powerful blessing.
Holy angels, surround my mitzvah person (mp)!
St. Raphael the Archangel, heal mp!
St. Michael the Archangel, defend mp in the battle!
St. Gabriel the Archangel, as soon as mp has basic survival and security under control, announce the coming of Christ to mp’s heart!
I received an answer to prayer today…seeking to do a mitzvah for the poor, face to face, not just writing checks.
I’ve been praying the Scriptures in a way that’s dangerous to complacency…dig out your Bibles if you want a sword plunged into your heart…
The rich fool, building bigger barns Lk 12:16-21
Sermon on the Mount Mt 5-7 (particularly the mutual dynamic of generosity toward others and trusting in divine providence rather than stuff or money)
Luke’s version of the Beatitudes–with corresponding woes Lk 6 (the woes are vv. 24-26)–rich/well-fed/laughing/powerful (=me) vs. poor/hungry/mourning/powerless (=my mitzvah person)–who thinks they’re blessed, and who thinks they’re cursed, vs. who is truly blessed, and upon whom is the woe pronounced? (Then read the letter to the church in Laodicea in Rev.)
Even Mary’s Magnificat in Lk 1–casting down the conceited powerful and lifting up the lowly, the hungry he has filled with good things and the rich he has sent empty away…
And then these three parables/stories, and imagine that the rich man is the same person in the first two, and Lazarus is the same person in the last two…
The rich young man/official that went away sad Lk 18:18-23
and Mk 10:17-22
The rich man and Lazarus Lk 16:19-31
The raising of Lazarus Jn 11:1-44
And…Mt 25 the judgement of the nations (like our song says, whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me)
Jesus said, the poor you will always have with you.
So I have been praying a lot on these. Sword to the soul.
Well, today I had a surprising and accidental opportunity to do my mitzvah, and I won’t go into great details for your human respect and thereby lose the reward of the Father who sees in secret.
I will just say, that when the footwashing Christ in you comes out, sometimes those feet are smelly and it’s inconvenient and even scary, and you have to take prudent risks and go out of your way and spend some money, and the poor are not an easy problem to be solved if only they would just think and act like us nice middle class people!!! and they aren’t always the halo-covered, polite, grateful poor like the Cratchits in Charles Dickens’ Christmas story, and it’s not always emotionally satisfying.
BUT the Holy Spirit burns within you, giving you compassion for another who is different, and the Spirit compels you to become the Samaritan and take responsibility for the care of another whom the world considers scary and icky…just don’t look, keep driving by, lock the doors.
And, spending time with this person, means coming to see the physical and emotional wounds this person bears, beyond the obvious material needs on the surface. The needy, wounded Christ in the other brings out the footwashing Christ in you.
My heart is broken for my mitzvah person, who is on my prayer list forever and who deserves the first seat at the banquet; and thank you, dear sweet Jesus, for entering into my life today in this way and giving me this powerful blessing.
Holy angels, surround my mitzvah person (mp)!
St. Raphael the Archangel, heal mp!
St. Michael the Archangel, defend mp in the battle!
St. Gabriel the Archangel, as soon as mp has basic survival and security under control, announce the coming of Christ to mp’s heart!
Thats very inspirational