I have been very moved by urbanmonks (www.supermarketmonkey.blogspot.com) blogs on poverty...so much so i went back to my nemesis Kierkegaard, as i recalled he had some wisdom to impart on this mystery...
'The gospel no longer benefits the poor essentially. In fact, Christianity has now even become a downright injustice to those who suffer (although we are not always conscious of this, and certainly unwilling to admit to it). Today the gospel is preached to the rich, the powerful, who have discovered it to be advantageous. We are right back again to the very state original christianity wanted to oppose! The rich and powerful not only get to keep everything, but their success becomes the mark of their piety, the sign of their relationship to God. And this promts the old atrocity again - namely, the idea that the unfortunate, the poor are to blame for their condition; that it is because they are not pious enough, are not true christians, that they are poor, whereas the rich have not only pleasure but piety as well. This is supposed to be Christianity. compare it with the New Testament, and you will see that it is as far from that as possible.'
He penned these words quite some time ago....not much has changed really and it seems we don't learn much at all. As I have always thought, the real fragrance of god is found in Gethsemene and Calvary....
...and maybe for the poor the gospel is good news because it is a sign of God's nearness...
4 comments:
Top post THOO..
If you the Spirit is fanned into flame by such things, you might enjoy reading a blog in my side bar link list, "Muddy Spirituality"
Jon is a member of a missionary order among the poor in Melbourne called Unoh(Urban Neighbors Of Hope)As someone at the coal face of ministry with the urban poor and marginalised, his insights are real, fresh, gritty, earthy, and sometimes a little scary..(you will see what I mean, if you read his current post)
Well, m'dear -- I don't think the real fragrance is on Calvary -- I think it is in the empty tomb after Calvary. I cannot think of Gethsemene and Calvary WITHOUT the empty cross and the empty tomb right alongside. Neither can I think of the empty tomb without seeing Calvary's shadow behind it. If I were to stop at the crucifixtion, I could not go on.
You know, that is not a bad point mata h..
oooh, was just about to comment and cyber monk did - always find it strange to think someone on the other side of the planet is roaming this site at the same time as me...
it is a good point and one (if my memory serves me well) we have dialoged over before. I agree that our journeys are useless if they stay in the garden or on calvary. I suppose my thinking comes from not subscribing to the over indulgence of evangelicalism, where the story of pentecost is hyjacked and polarised into a faith without pain and struggle...and i think we have to embody and become one with the suffering christ to have any chance of being salt and light in a tasteless and dark world, and only by visiting and so becoming part of the garden and hill experience on a daily basis can we invite (or even get an invite ourselves) tp the empty tomb...
thanks for the push
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