Live Simply - week 4

It seems fitting this Christmas to be looking at the part of the Live Simply promise that says that we choose to live in solidarity with the poor. This is because today we celebrate the birth of the Christ child. God With Us who was born into the humble surroundings of a stable. He dwelt amongst us in grace and truth. Living simply and in solidarity with the poor he taught us about God and the love that God has for each one of us.

At the start of Luke's gospel Jesus uses words of the prophet Isaiah to announce the purpose of his own ministry "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour." (Luke 4:17-21).

It seems to me that if we are to be true followers of Jesus we need to take on the same priorities that he has. One of the ways that we can do this is to take steps to understand that in his ministry he reached out to the poor.

He exercised what the church now calls a "preferential option for the poor". The church has come to recognise that when you serve the poor you are responding to a call that comes from God and so you serve Jesus himself. This may sound strange so I suggest that in order to try and understand further you meditate this week on the following:

• "I tell you, indeed whenever you did this for one of the least important of these brothers of mine you did it for me!" (Matthew 25:40). The longer passage can be found between verses 31 and 40

• A quote from St. Augustine "God does not demand much of you. He asks back what he gave you, and from him you take what is enough for you. The superfluities of the rich are the necessities of the poor. When you possess superfluities, you possess what belongs to others." from an Exposition on Psalm 147:12.
  

Putting together this reflection over Advent has challenged me to review my own priorities. Especially this week!