19 May 2016 - a salted people

[ Today's Readings ]

Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!

The poor in Spirit are those who aren't so attached to their wealth, their clothing, and their cold and silver that they store it up at the expense of others who have a right to it.

You have stored up treasure for the last days.
Behold, the wages you withheld from the workers
who harvested your fields are crying aloud;

It isn't wrong to have a spend money per say. Many people benefit from an active and robust economy. But that does not mean we can just spend recklessly and selfishly without regard for others. We are often in a position to be directly beneficial to the poor and needy. And we must not neglect such opportunities. Inaction here is culpable.

You have lived on earth in luxury and pleasure;
you have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter.
You have condemned;
you have murdered the righteous one;
he offers you no resistance.

May God help us to be poor in Spirit. Let's ask him the teach us the value of using the blessings that he gives to us for the sake of others.

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink
because you belong to Christ,
amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.

Even more than material blessings, we are blessed to know Jesus Christ in whom we have immeasurable and unsearchable riches (see Ephesians 2:7 and 3:8). Paul himself says that what he previously considered gain is now loss compared to knowing Jesus Christ (see Philippians 3:7). We know the one who gives life not only to the body but to the soul as well. He teaches the way of righteousness and gives us grace to empower us to live it. Even more than our material blessings this is what we need to share. And this is very difficult if we ourselves are the cause of scandal. If by what we say or by our example we cause others to sin we do something worse than not sharing the riches we have from Christ. We actually make it harder for others to find those riches than otherwise would be. This is serious.

Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, 
it would be better for him if a great millstone
were put around his neck
and he were thrown into the sea.

And so we must take whatever steps are reasonable to avoid sins ourselves. Even drastic steps to avoid the near occasion of sin are often appropriate.

It is better for you to enter into life maimed 
than with two hands to go into Gehenna,
into the unquenchable fire.

This is an exaggeration. Maiming oneself is itself sinful. But the point is clear. Even at expense to ourselves we must avoid the occasion of sin. If not our form is quickly consumed and the nether world is our resting place. But if we instead turn to God and the righteousness he gives us in Jesus Christ we find the answer.

But God will redeem me
from the power of the nether world by receiving me.

Even the temptations which assault us become the seasoning which give us flavor. 

“Everyone will be salted with fire.
Salt is good, but if salt becomes insipid,
with what will you restore its flavor?
Keep salt in yourselves and you will have peace with one another.”

The sufferings we bear when we give to others at our own expense, when we faithfully endure temptations, and when we give a good example to others no matter the cost to ourselves, refine and purify us and make us more like Christ himself.

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ (see First Peter 1:6-7).