When it comes to preaching homilies, in seminary we were jokingly (but also a little seriously) told two keys: the 5 Bs and KISS. The 5 Bs are: Be brief, boy, be brief; KISS stands for Keep It Simple, Stupid (Stupid being directed at the preacher). I don’t know how brief I’ll be, but I can keep it pretty simple today.
The readings today focus us on serving “outsiders.” By outsiders I mean those about whom we heard in the first reading–the hungry, oppressed, homeless–but also anyone who is poor or marginalized. As followers of Jesus, it is not enough to simply believe the right things (though that is important). How we live, and how we treat others is also key. We might say that those are the two parts of the greatest law (Love of God as right belief and right worship, and Love of Neighbor as right actions and morality).
This call by Jesus to change the way we treat others is part of what Jesus meant in the Gospel, that we are to be the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world.” By following Jesus, and living according to His way of life, we are to preserve what is good in society, and enlighten the parts of the world that are darkened by sin. By being salt and light, we glorify our heavenly Father.
St. John Chrysostom, one of the saints depicted in our icons, put it this way:
If you cannot remember everything, instead of everything, I beg you, remember this without fail, that not to share our own wealth with the poor is theft from the poor and deprivation of their means of life; we do not possess our own wealth but theirs. If we have this attitude, we will certainly offer our money; and by nourishing Christ in poverty here and laying up great profit hereafter, we will be able to attain the good things which are to come, by the grace and kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ…
Chrysostom means golden-mouthed, and though it might not seem so golden, he is certainly right. As followers of Jesus, as Catholics, we have an obligation to the poor and marginalized, to help them as much as we can. “Not,” as St. Paul says, “that others should have relief while you are burdened, but that as a matter of equality your surplus at the present time should supply their needs.”
Some would suggest that we don’t need to help the poor, because that’s what our taxes supply. And certainly, there are some ways that the government can help in ways that individuals cannot. It would be very difficult, if not impossible, to provide public housing based on personal generosity. It would be very difficult, if not impossible, to take care of basic health needs for people who have no real means of income, without some sort of larger program. But it is also true that a perennial teaching of Catholic social morality is that individuals or smaller entities that can provide for a need should be allowed to, and only when individuals or the smaller entities cannot should a larger entity or government step in (we call this subsidiarity).
I should also be clear that St. John Chrysostom is not advocating a wholesale redistribution of wealth. We hear that a lot from politicians who openly proclaim themselves as socialists. It is as if a political party can decide to become Robin Hood, and steal from the rich to give to the poor. But the Church does not advocate socialism, or for people to deputize themselves to decide how much people need, and take the rest from them by force. Private property and wealth are acceptable, as long as one realizes that the “outsiders” have a right to our assistance for anything beyond what we need for basic living. Jesus reminds us of this fact in Matthew 25, when he says that we will be judged on how we treated the hungry, thirsty, naked, ill, and those in prison.
What that looks like for each person is different. I can’t give you a dollar amount, or even a percentage, for how much you should be giving to those in need. The number 10% is tossed around, as the idea of a Biblical tithe, and to the extent that you're able, I would encourage sharing 10% between your parish, maybe Catholic Charities and a few other charities, and having some available as you encounter the poor in your day to day life. Catholic usually give less than 1% to their parish. Maybe it’s time for you to consider giving 2% to St. Pius X. Maybe you can give more. Maybe you can’t give 2%. Whatever it is, you’ll know what you can and can’t give, whether to your parish, to charities, and to individuals.
But remember that, as followers of Jesus, we have a responsibility to the “outsiders.” As we encounter the daily poor, we can decide best whether they are truly in need, or whether, sadly, they are trying to scam us. We can decide what charities use the money best for the poor, and areas of our city, State, country, and world that we feel particularly drawn to support. But the key is that we are committed to helping others to the extent that we are honestly able. I’ll end here with one more quote from St. John Chrysostom:
Do you want to honor Christ’s body? Then do not scorn him in his nakedness, nor honor him here in the church with silken garments while neglecting him outside where he is cold and naked. For He who said: “This is my body,” and made it so by his words, also said: “You saw me hungry and did not feed me, and inasmuch as you did not do it for one of these, the least of my brothers, you did not do it for me.”
