[Redbook3:73-74][19870329:1210w](Church
Material)[29th
March 1987]
19870329.1210(BST)
[continued]
The
other obstacle to communal Church-going is the nature and character
perceived in the community of the Church today: an emphasis on
material things which seems to ignore the inner sense of the Spirit,
and which has the ring of politics. It is extremely difficult to
analyse why it is wrong for the Church to lobby the Government, along
with other semi-political agencies*, by putting pressure on them to
take more money from the richer (or less poor) to give it to the
poorer (or less rich); but it is
wrong, and also unnecessary, as others are doing it.
Jesus
was concerned with the spiritual state of individuals and (to a
limited extent) of instititutions, such as the Temple and the
Pharisees. Even when he healed individuals of bodily ills, he did
so, it seems, from personal compassion, and generally sent the
newly-well away with a piece of spiritual advice: 'Go, and sin no
more'. So far as I can recall, whenever he spoke of riches and
poverty, it was not to save the poor, but to
save the rich.
He sympathised with the poor, but did not expect them to be made
wealthier**. He told the rich to give away their wealth not because
to do so would help the poor, but because it would ease them*** of a
burden which hindered or prevented their spiritual development.
Never once, as I recall, did he suggest that being poor hindered
spiritual development; although he may have believed that some forms
of illness sprang from a lack of spiritual development.
He
was questioned about tax, and spoke to tax collectors, on several
occasions; he never suggested that the rich should be taxed more to
ease them of their burden, nor that the tax should be redistributed
to the poor. If the rich could be helped by taking money from them,
spiritual development would be easy: the difficulty arose because the
wealth had to be willingly given
away.
If the poor could be helped by giving money to them, Jesus would
surely have arranged for this (as he could have: he had rich friends
and followers****) as well as healing the poor and teaching them. He
cared about the poor (and the rich) but not greatly about their
poverty: in fact there are indications that he regarded it as a
blessing in terms of spiritual development.
For
this reason the political lobbying and other political activity by
the Church here and in other Countries is utterly misconceived.
*[Not
sure whether the 'other semi-political agencies' are lobbying or
being lobbied here.]
**The
widow's mite {Lk21:1-4};
You
have the poor {with you} always {Mt26:6-13; Mk14:3-9};
Dives
and Lazarus {Lk16:19-31};
The
rich young man {Lk18:18-23; Mk10:17-22}.
***[i.e.
the rich.]
****(Tax
collectors etc.; (Magdalen's ointment).)
[continues]
[PostedBlogger18122015]
