Poor

July 3, 2009
I know that God will maintain the cause of the poor and render justice to the needy. Ps 140:12

I thought about all the poor with whom I interact at the hospital. Poor in health, poor in economics, poor in familial relationships, or poor in luck. This morning I read a reflection of what poor might mean, and it has awakened a new frame of thinking for me.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven..." (Matt 5:3) Or from the New English Bible, "how blest are those who know their need of God." Simon Weil reflects, "we are in danger of spiritual starvation, not because there is no bread, but because we have persuaded ourselves that we are not hungry."

I thought about all the poor with whom I work and yet, there is no poverty of hope. Nearly everyone I meet knows their need of God, particularly in illness, stressed insurance claims and familial relationships strained in health crises. It reminds me to acknowledge more honestly my own poverty - my bone-deep need of God.

How are you poor today?