(Church Material)[29th March 1987]

[Redbook3:73-74][19870329:1210w](Church Material)[29^th 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).)

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