Why does it matter if God uses the poor?   Why does it matter to us, if we’re not poor by the world’s standards,  if this is a night that changes the poor?  We may not be nomadic shepherds sleeping with the sheep in a field, but this still matters to us.

We are in spiritual poverty.  It’s different  from material poverty, but very important to recognize.

A sign is offered to us, from the poorest among us to the wealthiest, and it’s a poor baby in a manger.  This comes to us direct from God, though his heavenly messengers.   God helps us see our own poverty – spiritual and material – by his standards rather than our own.

When we see our own spiritual poverty compared to Jesus, we realize we need to get up and get to this baby, get to Jesus’ bedside just like those shepherds.  A spiritually or materially wealthier group may not have bothered – they may have considered themselves just fine – but the poor are those God started with because they are those who know they need outside help.

When we have enough, we can’t hunger for food.  It’s the same with God – if we consider ourselves spiritually rich and self-reliant, we won’t bother with reliance on God.

This is why, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor, or poor in Spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God.”

In the Christmas story, all of humanity sees its poverty, its spiritual poverty, compared to this divine baby.  We realize we are unable to get back to relationship with God, and yet  he comes to us anyway.    We realize we can’t buy our way out of this debt to God (called sin), so someone else bailed us out and paid it off.

In the Christmas story, God helps us see our own poverty – spiritual and material.

In so doing, we realize the world’s standards are empty – we are all poor compared to God’s standards, and all need him equally.  This can motivate us to extend to others, who we now recognize as spiritually poor themselves, the same generosity God has shown to us.

Challenge: Give to the spiritually and materially poor in your life!  Toy drive, food bank, direct to a friend.  Tell them why – because God has been generous and loving to you.

Reminder: We are reading the Bible in sync as one community – so check out today’s reading here.

Read the Bible in Sync Today

Ryan Sim - September 18, 2013

Wednesday - Change It - Strangers to Neighbours

Won\'t You Be My Neighbour?

Jesus says to love our neighbours, and includes enemies in his definition. In this week’s story Jesus confronted the reality that Samaritans and Jews were neighbours yet enemies, and said that his followers need to love and serve one another beyond such divisions. Elsewhere, he says it quite clearly: love your enemy. Turn the other cheek. Go the extra mile. My favourite part is where he says, “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.” Loving your friends is nothing special, but loving your enemies is special indeed. It’s hard, it’s messy, it feels very risky, compromising and vulnerable. But when we avoid loving our neighbours and enemies, we live in isolation, fear of the unknown and misunderstandings. One mayor told a church leader: “The majority of issues that our community is facing would be eliminated or drastically reduced if we could just figure out a way to become a community of great neighbours.” It’s hard to know what to say, do, when life gets messy, and especially when our love isn’t returned. It’s easy to just give up and say Jesus’ command is too hard to follow. But that can be explained simply enough. We haven’t got enough practice loving those closest to us, who aren’t our enemies, in order to be ready for loving our enemies. Loving our friendly, similar neighbours is good training for the big leagues. So – start by just finding out – Who is my neighbour? Download the attached Block Map. Click the Extra file, or link at end of video. You are in the middle of the grid, and think of the other squares in the grid as your neighbours across the street, beside and behind your home. Or if it’s more appropriate, think of it as your workplace, and the squares as neighbouring cubicles. Then write in each square: - Their Name(s) - One Fact About Them - Something Deeper – A hope, dream, fear, challenge, etc. Try and complete the grid as much as possible, and discuss with your group. We meet for coffee every Wednesday night at Starbucks in the Chapters Store in Ajax, in Durham Region just East of Toronto. Maybe we'll see you there?

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