By Eric Martin
We will always have the poor with us, according to scripture, yet within their person we will also find the love of Christ, as we respond to God’s call to love one another and demonstrate Jesus’ servant based, large-hearted ministry of mercy to others.
This was the message of the 2019 Anti-Poverty Mass, held last Thursday 17 October at St Thomas More Church, Bateman Parish, with groups of student representatives from Catholic schools around the metropolitan area in attendance.
The Mass was celebrated by Perth Auxiliary Bishop Donald Sproxton, with Permanent Deacon Aaron Peters delivering the homily to a Church full of teenagers and children with a message that was both emotive and informative.
“You know the best story that I’ve heard about someone telling us, or telling people that they are a treasure was a long, long time ago in the third century, and it happened to be done by a deacon – because deacons are great!” Dcn Peters began.
He told the tale of Laurence, the deacon who was in charge of all the possessions of the Church in Rome during the third century, and of Laurence’s oppression by the Prefect of Rome, who was opposed to Christianity and desired to see the fledgling religion destroyed.
“So this Prefect, this boss, said to Laurence, I want you to gather all the treasures of the Church, everything it’s got, and I want them in my pocket,” Dcn Peters said.
“And Laurence said: ‘Okay, I can do that, just give me three days, then meet me here and I will give you everything we’ve got.’ And so Laurence went off and gathered together all of the treasures that he could find from every Christian community in the city of Rome.
“Three days go past, the Prefect comes and stands out the front of his offices, Laurence turns up and says, ‘Here are our treasures.’ And he presented all the poor, oppressed, injured and disabled people of the City of Rome: ‘These are our treasures’.
“Now that wasn’t just a tricky way to get out of coughing up the money, but it was actually truth, a fundamental truth of what it means to be a Christian, of the Christian world view. Our treasures aren’t money; it’s not stuff or clothes or cars: our treasures are people. And particularly those who are vulnerable because they show through their vulnerability God’s presence in the world.
From that point on, in the third century, Christians started to have more influence in the world, gradually bringing about a change in mentality: that people are treasures, people are important; and it dramatically changed the world.
“Today, 1700 years later, we have the same message, the same worldview,” Dcn Peters shared.
“Poverty is a problem; we’ve got to deal with poverty but poor people aren’t the problem; poor people are treasures. Oppression is a problem and we have to deal with oppression, but an oppressed person is a brother or a sister.”
Referring to the rag covered Cross on the altar which was carried in by students at the beginning of Mass, the Deacon also highlighted the fact that even though we are treasures, precious in God’s sight, we are also dirty rags, stained by sin and seemingly useless when compared to the pristine condition of new clothes.
He said that even though each of us is a treasure, at the same time, “You, me, everyone, Bishop Don and everyone else; we’re all rags. We’re not perfect. By ourselves we don’t have it within us to save people or to eradicate poverty, or even to live good lives.
“But the thing about rags, is that a rag can be changed into a source of light.”
Dcn Peters then gave the example of actors during a cave scene in a movie who are trapped underground in the darkness: as we know from too much TV, the actors will have no problem finding rags, a stick and oil to make a torch and find their way out of the cave.
“Somehow, by wrapping the rag around a stick, soaking it in oil and lighting it with some sort of flame, what was a rag and seemingly useless becomes a source of light,” Dcn Peters added.
“And what happens when we create light? We see the world differently, just like Laurence did. We see the way through and out of the current problems of the world differently, just like Christians have for 1700 years.”
He explained that we become a beacon and a light to others around the world, “simply by taking my life, wrapping it around the cross and giving it to Christ”.
The Apostle Paul, writing to the early Christians in Ephesus, said: “Look within your community, God will illuminate a solution to problems”.
As Christians we should not rely on someone from outside the Christian community to solve these deep seated issues: problems like poverty are not dealt with by those who are perfect, in power or rich, coming into the community and doing things for others.
“When you go back to school today, in the next week and the next year; teachers, when you go back to the staff-room, other adults here, wherever you’re going after this, clergy when we go back to our parishes and ministries: if we show God’s love, our connection, our solidarity, our respect – not our condescension for the poor and even the oppressed, other people will share that and what we do today, with prayer, the Help of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, will continue a worldwide movement so that eradicating poverty does become achievable, not from the outside but as something from within.
“So as we pray today, I want you to see these rags, not as some quaint little symbol, but as you. Offer your life to God so that you may be of service with Christ,” Dcn Peters concluded.