Tag Archives: loving and learning from the poor

Daily Riches: How the Poor Bless Us (Bob McCahill, Thomas Merton, Eduardo Galeano)

Posted on by under Learning Your Proper Place, Loving Well, The Poor and Disenfranchised, The Upside-Down Kingdom

“The mask that each man wears may well be a disguise not only for that man’s inner self but for God, wandering as a pilgrim and exile in His own creation.” Merton

“It seems to me that the poor evangelize us by giving us various types of good example. They instruct us in patience by their patience under adversity. They edify us by their uncomplaining struggles. They inspire us by undergoing suffering without becoming bitter. They encourage us to face our own problems more bravely by grappling with the pain in their lives. They teach us about the simplicity with which one can live a human life. They offer us a good model for prayer life by their dependence on God: that is, in times of great need they look to God before all else. They do not appeal to God secondly or lastly after other possibilities have failed them. When we witness their efforts to survive with dignity amidst the hardships they constantly encounter, they help us to put into perspective our own overblown problems. Through the struggling poor we begin to understand how good God is to us and how stingy we are with our thanksgiving to God. If we think about them deeply enough, they put us to shame, for, though they are oppressed, they can still laugh and sing.” Bob McCahill

“I don’t believe in charity; I believe in solidarity. Charity is vertical, so it’s humiliating. It goes from top to bottom. Solidarity is horizontal. It respects the other and learns from the other. I have a lot to learn from other people.”  Eduardo Galeano

“You say, ‘I am rich;
I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’
But you do not realize
that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.”
Revelation 3:17

Moving From the Head to the Heart

  • Have poor people helped you to realize how poor you are? how good God is to you? how “stingy” you are with your thanksgiving to God? What else?
  • Do you think of ministry to the poor in terms of “solidarity?” What would that mean?
  • Jesus wandered as a poor man, in disguise among his own creation. Does remembering that help you to love those who are poor?

Abba, use your poor to show me the way, to bless me as I attempt to bless them.

For More: A Dialogue of Life by Bob McCahill

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These “Daily Riches” are for your encouragement as you seek after God and he seeks after you. I hope you’ll follow my blog, and share it. My goal is to share something of unique value with you daily in 400 words or less. I appreciate your interest!  –  Bill (Psalm 90:14)

“I practice daily what I believe; everything else is religious talk.”

Daily Riches: Learning From the Poor (Dallas Willard, Henri Nouwen and Bernard of Clairvaux) *

Posted on by under Social Justice, The Poor and Disenfranchised

“The mystery of ministry is that the Lord is to be found where we minister. That is what Jesus tells us when he says: ‘Insofar as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me’ (Matthew 25:40). Our care for people thus becomes the way to meet the Lord. The more we give, support, guide, counsel and visit, the more we receive, not just similar gifts, but the Lord himself. To go to the poor is to go to the Lord.” Henri Nouwen

“… shopping, banking, even living in the poorer districts of our area will do much to lend substance to our grasp of how the economically deprived experience their world—and ours. This will add a great substance to our understanding, prayers, and caring that can never be gained by an occasional ‘charity run’ or by sending money to organizations that work with the poor. Remember, Jesus did not send help. He came among us.” Dallas Willard

“Only charity can convert the soul, freeing it from unworthy motives.” Bernard of Clairvaux

“…be willing to associate with people of low position.”  Romans 12:16

Moving From the Head to the Heart

Everyone is at a different place when it comes to ministry to the poor. Some of us make “charity runs”, some “send money” to international or local aid organizations, some have yet to do much of anything. Nouwen even discusses whether it’s possible to truly share the life of the poor by living among them (Gracias!, 115). It’s not always easy to help, but we try.

  • Do you see loving the poor as something that defines what it means for you to love Jesus?
  • Do you regularly do anything that helps you to grasp how the poor “experience their world—and ours?”
  • Can you set aside some quiet time before God in the next week where you ask him to show you about his love for the poor and what that might mean for you?

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For More: The Spirit of the Disciplines by Dallas Willard

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The “Daily Riches” from RicherByFar are for your encouragement as you seek after God, and as he seeks after you. My goal is to give you something of uncommon value each day in 400 words or less. I hope you’ll follow my blog, and share it with others. I appreciate your interest!  –  Bill (Psalm 90:14)

Daily Riches: Learning From the Poor (Dallas Willard, Henri Nouwen and Bernard of Clairvaux)

Posted on by under Social Justice, The Poor and Disenfranchised

“The mystery of ministry is that the Lord is to be found where we minister. That is what Jesus tells us when he says: ‘Insofar as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me’ (Matthew 25:40). Our care for people thus becomes the way to meet the Lord. The more we give, support, guide, counsel and visit, the more we receive, not just similar gifts, but the Lord himself. To go to the poor is to go to the Lord.” Henri Nouwen

“… shopping, banking, even living in the poorer districts of our area will do much to lend substance to our grasp of how the economically deprived experience their world—and ours. This will add a great substance to our understanding, prayers, and caring that can never be gained by an occasional ‘charity run’ or by sending money to organizations that work with the poor. Remember, Jesus did not send help. He came among us.” Dallas Willard

“Only charity can convert the soul, freeing it from unworthy motives.” Bernard of Clairvaux

“…be willing to associate with people of low position.”  Romans 12:16

Moving From the Head to the Heart

Everyone is at a different place when it comes to ministry to the poor. Some of us make “charity runs”, some “send money” to international or local aid organizations, some have yet to do much of anything. Nouwen even discusses whether it’s possible to truly share the life of the poor by living among them (Gracias!, 115). It’s not always easy to help, but we try.

  • Do you see loving the poor as something that defines what it means for you to love Jesus?
  • Do you regularly do anything that helps you to grasp how the poor “experience their world—and ours?”
  • Can you set aside some quiet time before God in the next week where you ask him to show you about his love for the poor and what that might mean for you?

__________

For More: The Spirit of the Disciplines by Dallas Willard

_________________________________________________

The “Daily Riches” from RicherByFar are for your encouragement as you seek after God, and as he seeks after you. My goal is to give you something of uncommon value each day in less than 400 words. I hope you’ll follow my blog, and share it with others. I appreciate your interest!  –  Bill (Psalm 90:14)