This week’s (Nov. 17) gospel passage reflects on the demand for a sign. After having predicted the destruction of the great Temple in Jerusalem the followers of Jesus ask for signs that will foreshadow this cataclysmic event. To the chagrin of his followers Jesus does not offer detailed signs that predict this event (he even goes so far as to put down some headline grabbing events like “wars and insurrection”) but what Jesus does highlight is the persecution that Christians can expect for being associated with Jesus and his mission. In reading this passage what struck me was the context for Jesus’ prediction. As expected many were in awe of the Temple and people commented over the opulence and wealth that it represented, Jesus dismisses this instantly by reminding his listeners that such opulence is in the end perishable and he redirects his followers to focus on the mission and its social repercussions.
In dedicating today as the World Day of the Poor Pope Francis also calls us to not be caught up in being awestruck by wealth and opulence and instead to center ourselves in our Christian mission:
Yet Jesus who inaugurated his kingdom by placing the poor at the centre, wanted to tell us precisely this: he inaugurated the kingdom, but he has entrusted to us, his disciples, the task of carrying it forward with responsibility for giving hope to the poor. Especially at times like our own, there is a need to revive hope and to restore confidence. This responsibility is not something that the Christian community may underestimate. The credibility of our proclamation and the witness of Christians depends on it.
During this week we are called to put aside the headline grabbing news events and the wealth and opulence that we tend to marvel at and instead to reflect on the counter-cultural mission of our Church which, as Pope Francis reminds us, is “giving hope to the poor” and our ministry of charity and justice. The opportunity here is for the parish community and it’s leadership to reflect on the programs and services of Catholic Charities and our own Parish social ministry. Let us take the time to examine the way we as a parish community demonstrate the “credibility of our proclamation” through this specific ministry. As we approach the holiday season let us consider how we can cooperate with our parish or diocesan programs.
In this message Pope Francis calls us not only to volunteer in the ministry of charity and justice but he also challenges us to enter the world of the poor intimately. We can engage in charitable acts by donating to good causes and programs and while that is certainly welcomed we are also called to enter into a deeper relationship with our brothers and sisters in need. In the Pope’s own words:
Dear brothers and sisters, I encourage you to seek, in every poor person whom you encounter, his or her true needs, not to stop at their most obvious material needs, but to discover their inner goodness, paying heed to their background and their way of expressing themselves, and in this way to initiate a true fraternal dialogue. Let us set aside the divisions born of ideological and political positions, and instead fix our gaze on what is essential, on what does not call for a flood of words, but a gaze of love and an outstretched hand.
