TEACH ME
Lord God, you humble me before the poor.
The more I have the more I want to cling to.
Jesus Christ did not grasp at divine equality but laid aside his glory,
stripping himself of privilege and security
to live life with the conditions we live under.
He was a vulnerable child, unprotected from Herod’s wrath, a refugee;
he was found alongside the lowest, the least, the lost,
he gave all, even life itself.
Yet I hesitate to part with some of my abundance.
Lord God, you humble me before the poor
who when they have a little to eat, share it,
who will fight to secure others’ good,
who, having nothing, yet seem to possess all things.
I cringe away from the sacrifice Jesus asked of the rich young man.
But I also believe I am not called to part with my possessions as he was.
Or am I? Search my heart; you know my innermost thoughts.
Teach me so to handle the possessions you have entrusted to me
that whatsoever is asked of me,
they will be treated as yours, not as my own.
Teach me to fight unjust systems which rob people
of their share of God’s provision.
Teach me to be alert to rationalisations and evasions in my own life
and in Church and in public life.
May I respond to Mary’s vision – of the poor lifted high.
All this I ask in Jesus Christ’s name and for his sake.
Amen
Ian M Fraser (adapted), from Strange Fire, Ian M Fraser (Wild Goose Publications)
