Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
Luke 6:20, 24
Rev. Martha Goodman presented our first lesson, bringing to life the words of the verse.
"blessed" = "makarios" in the Greek
can mean, "honorable" or "greatly honored"
it's not about God honoring the poor,
but more about the poor
being thought of as greatly honored by the community;
it's about how we treat one another
"poor" = "ptochoi" in the Greek
meaning the truly destitute, not the working poor
those unable to pull themselves out of debt or poverty
those, at the time Jesus spoke the Beatitudes, taxed beyond their ability to earn
"rich" = "plousioi" in the Greek
meaning the affluent,
those so rich they do not have to work
Because of what we experienced in our study, Martha helped us formulate the beginning of our group confession, our shared truth, our inspiration for action:
The destitute are to be greatly honored.
We believe that we need to do more
because poverty is real in Virginia Beach.
God blesses us so that we can bless others.
The purpose of having anything is to share it.
The destitute need our help.
Through no fault of their own, they are unable to help themselves.
We believe there are myths and misunderstandings
which work against the poor,
perpetuate the divide between rich and poor,
and keep us blind.
Therefore, we resolve to begin exploring
the possibility of establishing
a Clothes Closet at Providence Presbyterian Church.
Think about our time together and our shared confession above. How will this confession change your life as a disciple of Jesus Christ? How can we begin to make the possibility of a Clothes Closet a reality?
What a wonderful time we had "gathering at the well"! Thank you,Donna Rae, for making it happen.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Martha, for sharing your thought-provoking insights for lesson 1. Your perspective on the recipients of the "sermon on the mount" vs. the "sermon on the plain" was appreciated.
As to making the clothes closet a reality ... it's on my prayer list! I'm also contacting some ladies at Bayside Presby. for pointers on how theirs was started, and how it's run.
I'm looking forward to our next gathering!
Cathy, thank you for checking with Bayside!
ReplyDeleteA Prayer:
ReplyDeleteO Christ the Light, illuminate and cleanse
the dark corners of the world where hang the cobwebs of apathy
and the dust of neglect; shine on faces made grim
by poverty and war; melt the icicles of despair
and the hard frozen wastes of selfishness;
and let Your searching rays enclose the whole
in one great radiance.
by Betty Hares
Looking forward to our Tuesday evening gathering. Thank you Donna Rae for making our time together so special!
ReplyDelete