Christian Reflection and Prayer

Scripture:

Lending to the Poor

35 ‘If one of your brethren becomes poor, and falls into poverty
among you, then you shall help him, like a stranger or a sojourner,
that he may live with you.
(Leviticus 25:35 (New King James Version)

Reflection:

I'm not a Roman Catholic, but there are many things in the Roman Catholic
church that I very much admire. I'm so very often impressed
with their liturgy, their high sense of worship, their dedication
to their faith, and their dedication to tradition.

One thing that I so admire is the Roman Catholic admiration for the
the Saints. As a Protestant I hold to the belief that we are all Saints as believers
in Christ. But I also believe, if you'll pardon the phrase,"some Saints are more
saintly than others". One of those Saints is St. Francis.

Lately I've been asking the question," What if St. Francis were here today"?
I am sure that if St. Francis were with us today, he would not so much condemn
us for our consumer-oriented materialism as he would weep over our failure
to see where life and love can be most fully experienced and actualized-
among the poor. He would not so much tell us that having things is bad
as he would tell us that giving what we have to the poor can bring us to God
and to the highest potentialities of our humanity.

For France's, being Christian was, above all else, being committed to and in love
with the poor. St. Francis found in the poor a special presence of God, and he made
loving the poor synonymous with loving Christ. He said: I love the poor, not because
they are poor but because Jesus is in them. Whenever I embraced them
I embrace our Lord. He really was convinced that as he embraced the poor
he embraced the Lord himself" he is really there". It made no difference
to him whether the poor were holy or Christian. Even among the most despicable
of them, Francis contended that he could experience Christ real presence.
To him Matthew 25:40 was to be taken literally

There is the story, while Francis was traveling by horse back down a lonely road,
abating Leper dressed in rags suddenly blocked his way. Lepers had always
been a repulsive sight to Francis. He became nauseated just being near them.
And there before him was a leper who could not be avoided.

At that moment Francis heard the words of Jesus resounding in his heart:
" as you do it to the least of these, my brothers, you did it to me!"!

St. Francis climbed off his horse and went up to the leper. He not only gave
him all his money but also gave him his clothes. Then, on impulse, he embraced the
and kissed him.

Climbing back onto his horse, Francis glanced down toward where the leper
had been to bid him farewell. Shocked, he realized that the road was empty.
The leper had vanished. All that Francis could conclude was that he who he thought
had been a leper had really been the Lord himself. What he had done
for that leper, Francis was convinced, he had done for Christ.

You see we do not need some wild eyed celebrity preacher or a so-called
Christian politician condemning us for our consumer orientated ways, as much as we need
such a wide eyed Saint pleading with us to find fulfillment and ecstasy in service to the poor.
We need this kind of pleading voice urging us " TO FIND THE ETERNAL IN
THE FACES OF THE OPPRESSED".

PRAYER:

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred . . . let me sow love
Where there is injury . . . pardon
Where there is doubt . . . faith
Where there is despair . . . hope
Where there is darkness . . . light
Where there is sadness . . . joy
O, Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled . . . as to console
To be understood . . . as to understand,
To be loved . . . as to love
For it is in giving . . . that we receive,
It is in pardoning, that we are pardoned,
It is in dying . . . that we are born to eternal life.

(there was a great deal of information taken from the book
"Wake Up America" by Tony Compolo)