Luke 6 - Poverty -v- riches: a gem from Joachim Jeremias

----- Forwarded Message -----

To: Nivard - - -
Sent: Thursday, 13 September 2012, 9:50
Subject: Fw: Luke 6 - Poverty -v- riches: a gem from Joachim Jeremias Nivard

Nivard,

Maybe you can clarify William's COMMENT on the 'gem' from Joachim Jeremiah.

For the moment I'm diverted on visit to RIE hospital.

Don

 + + + 

----- Forwarded Message -----

From: William Wardle <williamwardle2bp@btinternet.com>
To: Dom Donald.Nunraw <nunrawdonald@yahoo.com>
Sent: Wednesday, 12 September 2012, 22:29
Subject: Luke 6 - Poverty -v- riches: a gem from Joachim Jeremias

Dear Father Donald,

 

I was reading Joachim Jeremias' 'New Testament Theology' last evening, closing the book at page 223 with a gasp - for he addressed the issues in today's Gospel and spiralled my mind quite off-centre to an entirely different point of focus. Today's Gospel confronts the worldly perspective with a (reverse) mirror image: "Blessed are you who are poor.... but woe to you who are rich" (Lk 6:20f.).

 

Joachim Jeremias considers the renunciation of all belongings, and the 'eschatological reversal of fortunes'. He then (his openness and frankness are so refreshing) considers 'what is there in possessions that leads to sin?" and examines prevalent attitudes in the period of Jesus' lifetime: he then adds this gem, increasing the contrast and revealing the spiritual significance of Jesus' words by leading us (his skill) into another parallel reference: 

 

"Jesus' intention for those of his disciples who renounce their possessions is that they are to give them to the poor. Anyone who does this places all he has in God's hands; he lays up a treasure for himself in heaven (Matt.6:20): here the stress is not on the two different kinds of treasure, but on the two different places in which they are kept."

 

Still wondering how he steered me, all day today I have been thinking: yes, it is where the treasure is kept that defines wealth or poverty.

 

With my love in Our Lord,

William