Choose Those Who Are Poor

Thursday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters.  Did not God choose those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom that he promised to those who love him?  But you dishonored the poor.  Are not the rich oppressing you?  And do they themselves not haul you off to court?  James 2:5-6

And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?”  Peter said to him in reply, “You are the Christ.”  Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.  Mark 8:29-30

Piety

Lord, we know that you hear the cry of the poor because we do such an inadequate job of hearing their voices over the buzz of our iPod and the distraction of Candy Craze or Farmville.  Help us to realize that most Americans on the bus or subway earn more in a year than 98 percent of the rest of the world.  Help us to be aware and do something about honoring the poor. Amen.

Study

Sometimes, sacred Scriptures sound like a skipping recrecrecrecord…that old-fashioned disk of plastic with a groove cut in for sound to be recorded. Once again, James reminds us to exalt the humble and humble those who think they should be exalted. Why do we come back to this theme over and over and over and over again?

Maybe because we do exactly the opposite. This week, with the Sochi Olympics, we are laser-focused on elite athletes (physically rich).  In the news more than the athletes is Vlad Putin the Russian leader (politically rich).   Also in the headlines is the elevation of Jimmy Fallon into the host chair on late night TV.   Even though the next national election is two years away, some are intent to focus on potential enemies and rivals in order to tear down the reputations of political heavyweights like:

a.   Hillary Clinton

b.   Scott Walker

c.   Elizabeth Warren

d.   Chris Christie

e.   Barack Obama

f.    Rand Paul

g.   All of the Above

Who does not get their right to life in all the competing stories?  A young black teen shot in Florida for playing loud music.  Native American slandered by the names of sports teams. A music teacher shot in the doorway of her own home by a man who just walked up and killed her.

We need reminders because we have not acted like we get the message.  Yet.

Action

Do one thing today to exalt the poor…even if that is just to ignore the media obsession with wealth, beauty, power and celebrity.  After all, if God chose the poor to be rich in faith, don’t you think God would have chosen Ruthann Lodato over Vladimir Putin or Jordan Davis over Jimmy Fallon?