There can be a belief that we are called to earn our salvation through our own good works and accomplishments. Almost like frequent flyer points, we can believe merit is its own reward and miss out on the importance of who we are called to be in a relationship with. The Gospel is about how we are saved as a people of faith not just as individuals. This calls us to a profound insight that at the heart of creation God seeks out those who are pushed to the margins and who are deprived of the necessities of life.
We come before God as people who recognize how easy it is for people to be plunged into poverty by events beyond their control. We are called to not judge people on their external appearances. We can often tell stories to ease our conscience when we seek to separate each other into the saved and the unsaved. Yet the reality is that the Good News is not a private revelation but a lifegiving light that warms the heart and directs the soul.
This orientation toward God does not seek to own the divine but rather opens us up to the possibility that we can be transformed. This is achieved not by our hard work or the adoption of spiritual formula. Rather it seeks to abandon ourselves totally on God's loving presence that directs our attention to our neighbor. It seeks to shape our lives by the encouragement that every life matters. In an age when people become increasingly individualistic and parochial, where nations seek to favor others by their wealth rather than their worth and our politics shape our culture rather than culture shaping our politics we are called to become people who become contemplatives in the marketplace. This contemplative spirit discovers that God speaks to every generation and the words are almost always the same, "The Lord hears the cry of the poor".We are moved to recognize what breaks our hearts for the good of all creation and not just our own comfort both material and spiritual. May the peace of Christ disturb you.
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