Dear Sisters and Brothers,
In 1976 I helped to take a youth mission trip to the Dominican Republic that changed my life. I was struck by the poverty contrasted to those who were well off. It was nothing I had not seen in the United States, but there was something different about the contrast there. One of the other male chaperones and I stayed with the family of a kidney specialist. His house was modest compared to what I would have expected, but across the street and down the hill there were dozens of homes, shacks really, before reaching the river; tin roofs, dirt floors, some with cardboard walls. We met many of the local people as they were members of Todo los Santos, All Saint’s Episcopal Church. What struck me about them was their reliance on God. I expected them to be depressed, begging for help, even hopeless, but that was not the case. They were filled with the knowledge that God would provide what they needed to get by. When I came to Kentucky and began working in the mountain region, I saw similar poverty. What I quickly noticed in many was a hope, but not so much in God, but in the government. Yes, here in the U.S., we had many assistance programs lacking in the D.R., but the hopefulness and joy I had seen in the people of the D.R. seemed to be missing. When we read Luke’s Beatitudes, the “Blessed are’s”, I see the contrast. There were no governmental programs to help those on
the hill sides. Yes, there might be charity for a few, but the only hope they had was upon God. While Matthew spiritualizes them, Luke is more down to earth: “Blessed are you poor…Blessed are you that are hungry…Blessed are you that weep.” Jesus was clearly reminding them that their only true reliance was with God. It was not that they would suddenly be rich, or sated, or find themselves full of joy, but that they were not alone, that they were not forgotten. In the story of Lazarus and Dives, I believe the real sin was not that the rich man did not give Lazarus, who sat at his door daily while the dogs licked his sores the crumbs which fell from his table, but that as he walked by, he did not even notice the man in need. Just as God knew the worth of the sparrows, God knows the worth of all of us. Some may consider me a socialist because I believe in the governmental assistance programs, but they are not an end in themselves. We need to be
sure that those receiving help are also valued, given respect, treated as true children of God, like us. Jesus was not ignorant of the bodily needs, just think of the feeding of the five thousand and the four thousand, but he knew there was more, that we do not live by bread alone, for the kingdom of God is more than a grand banquet table and a mansion filled with rooms. It is also us reaching across the table to feed those who cannot feed themselves, giving shelter to those exposed to the cold and heat, the rain and snow. The kingdom is not feeling sorry for those experiencing loss, but simply being with them, probably better sitting quietly rather than trying to explain the ways of God, sitting with them, and letting them know they are not alone. We are blessed, Lord help us to share the gifts you give us.
Peace,
Bryant+
