A Part of the Main

there are many types of hunger, thirst, and poverty.  in jesus' teachings, we are taught that those who "hunger and thirst for righteousness" will be filled, that the "poor in spirit" will receive the kingdom of heaven, that those who give food and water to those who hunger and thirst are caring for jesus himself.  during his lifetime, jesus spent most of his time with those who lived in poverty and with those who were condemned by "devout" society.

in reaching out to people who,  like matthew and zaccheus, were shunned by most of their contemporaries because they had allied themselves with the romans as tax collectors, jesus recognized that, though these two men were "rich" in the sense that most people define the word, they were poor in spirit.  both matthew and zaccheus were aware of their own spiritual poverty and became followers of jesus, abandoning their old ways of living and embracing the good news that jesus preached.

jesus saw the suffering of common people who bore the multiple burdens of roman occupation and taxation, oppression by the jewish allies of the romans who enriched themselves by taking advantage of those who could not pay the roman taxes, and perversion of the jewish religion to protect the positions of the religious leaders so that the religion became a curse to ordinary people rather than a blessing.  with all these forces working against them, those to whom jesus reached out were hungry and thirsty for righteousness, as well as being physically hungry and thirsty.  in following jesus and his teachings, these disadvantaged people saw hope that they would be filled, as they looked beyond their own needs to the needs of others.  jesus showed them that by serving others they were filled themselves.

just as those ancient followers were filled and their spiritual lives were enriched, we are reminded of the core of the good news that jesus delivered: to love our neighbors as ourselves.  during the christmas season, we see love made manifest in the birth of a child in an obscure judean village to poor parents.  this child is the personification of love, demonstrating that we, too, can be filled with a love that seems foolish to much of the world--a love that embraces people of all races and genders, a love that demands that we "love [our] enemies and pray for those who mistreat [us]."

may we seek this sort of love in our lives, not just during this season but in all seasons.  may we feed the hungry and give water to the thirsty.  may we reach out to those who live in literal and spiritual poverty.  may the truth that is in each of us be expressed by transcending the narrow bounds of religion to its universal manifestation in caring for one another.  shalom.