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Beggars Before God

Luther once said, “We are all beggars before God.” It is such a powerful image to imagine your life as a beggar before God. How would that change our opinions if we resonated with the beggar inside of us? Everything you do relying upon God’s grace, never knowing where you will receive your next meal.

When we look at feeding people, we are only feeding them for a day. What would happen if we were working with Jesus to transform people’s life, letting the life-giving power of grace free a person from the bondage of the world. Some of my favorite verses of the Bible are Romans 12:1-2. “I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God–what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

We are so desperately in need of grace, yet this grace needs to make an impact in our lives here and now. As we at our communities, are we going through those hard questions of how we live together? Christ calls us into a unique way of living together. Not only is my body a living sacrifice to God, our bodies as the body of Christ receive this call to live as a living sacrifice to God. Too often, I turn on the news and wonder where Christ’s presence is in the world. Looking to world politics, the whole scene frightens me.

The problem seems so simple to me. As people, we are so stuck on ourselves. Our egos are so great that we find ourselves so easily conformed to the world. We are so concerned about being great forgetting that we are called to serve.

If we want to discuss about doing great things for America, lets reflect upon who is great in God’s eyes not our eyes.

Who would you call a great Christian? Let’s name some names. St. Francis who received the call to rebuild the church and built the Franciscan order to help those in need, building a community. Mother Teresa, she created a new community not like the normal communities of the world, the lepers receiving a touch or people being with others. Dietrich Bonhoeffer creating Finkewald community, these men gathered together in a new form of seminary to pray together rebelling against Nazi Germany. Christian community faces the darkness of the world in many ways. It involves renewing of the minds to discern the will of God.

If you are thinking, it is impossible to follow these people. Remember what St. Francis, “Start by doing what is necessary; then do what is possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” Also, be reminded that it is Christ who is leading them us.

Now let me tell you how it is happening in our community. The House of Hagar is a Catholic Worker House and set up in East Wheeling to create spiritual community with people from various walks of lives. Having visited a few times, it is a place that makes me wonder whether early Christianity looked like this. A new way of living with our minds being renewed. Community with doing simple things to care for those in need. We also may look at YSS helping youth in need and with various programs to help those with addictions.

As I work with my congregation, I tend to look towards our neighborhood first. As Christ works in our lives, how we work with our neighbors is so important. We don’t have to look any further than our street and neighborhood to ask. What are the necessary steps to live as a community for Christ? Love God, love neighbor. That is our response to the grace that Christ gave us through his death and resurrection. Great things start through our day to day interactions. Remember we are nothing but beggars before God, and respond to the call of God’s grace in your life.

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