"Elizaveta Iurievna Kuzmina-Karavaeva Skobtsova, later known as Mother Maria, was a Russian Orthodox religious thinker, poet and artist. Her multi-faceted legacy includes articles, poems, art, and drama. In the 1910s she was part of the literary milieu of St. Petersburg and was a member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party. She fled Russia soon after the Bolsheviks' takeover and lived in Paris, where she became a nun. In 1935, she participated in organizing the so-called Orthodox Action, which was designed to help Russian immigrants in France. She and her fellow-workers from Orthodox Action opened a house for homeless and sick immigrants in Paris. During the Nazi occupation of the city, the house was transformed into a refuge for Jews and displaced persons. Mother Maria and her son were arrested by the Gestapo in 1943 and died in the Ravensbruck camp in Germany. Mother Maria's selfless devotion to people and her death as a martyr will never be forgotten. In 2004, the Holy Synod confirmed the glorification of Mother Maria." - from Columbia University Libraries Special Collection link

Feeding the Poor

I remember a number of years ago I read through the debate a group of friends was having about how the poor should spend their welfare checks.  The discussion went on and on and on.  One group of folks believed they should spend money on one thing.  Of course the other group disagreed and felt the money would be put to its best use if they bought something else.

As I recall - it has been a few years - the discussion drilled down into the fine minutia.  There was even a list of items that should be allowed and should not be allowed.  Things like cigarettes, steaks and alcohol made the "not allowed list."

I suppose that there should be some list somewhere - perhaps in the guidelines for welfare recipients - but the group that was discussing all of this was a group of folks who believed in social action.  It was a group of Christians who believed themselves avant-guard activists.  It was a group of people who held the value of feeding the poor, but very few of them had ever stood on the street with a box of lunches in their arms to hand out to the poor.

These days there is a lot of verbal banter about taking care of the poor.  There always has been.  Banter is just that.  Usually the folks steeped in banter are not steeped in practice.

Standing on the streets and handing out meals to the homeless can only open your heart to the fact that there is no simple answer.  The poor will always be here.  The call of Jesus is not to eradicate poverty from the face of the earth.  The call of Jesus to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the imprisoned is meant to change us.

When we meet the hunger of another persons soul, we are changed.  We somehow stare into the hunger of our own soul.  Most often, the response in this situation is SILENCE.  We are moved to an active stillness in these situations.

This active stillness does not judge, cannot judge.  This active stillness does not make rules, or guidelines.  This active stillness opens to the other in a self emptying way.  This active stillness becomes one with the other.  And, for a moment.  No one is hungry.  All are filled.

Ciao!

+Tom


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1 comment:

  1. Julie ShemeliaJanuary 10, 2010 at 6:06 PM

    Amen. God's work is done through us so much more effectively with use of our hands rather than our mouths

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