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    • The New Monasticism: The 12 Marks: Mark #2

    Posted in: Spirituality by bill-o on September 06, 2008

    Continuing with our reflections on the 12 marks of the New Monasticism, we encounter the second mark:

    “Sharing economic resources with fellow community members and the needy among us”

    The first mark dealt with geographical relocation, whereas the second mark deals with monetary reallocation. What some have called “commonism” (which is not the same thing as Communism, by the way) was a hallmark of the earliest followers of Christ in Jerusalem. “And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.” (The Book of Acts, chapter 2 verses 43 and 44) Such a deep commitment of communal sharing, however, lasted for decades beyond the Pentecost. As the church father Tertullian later expressed (around the year 200) about the lives of Christ-followers: “Everything is shared among us – except for our wives.” (Tertullian, Apologetics, 39:11)

    Such a communal sharing takes real maturity and love. Yet the benefits are remarkable. Everyone is cared for to the best ability of the community. No one is left behind. Each person has the supply and backing of the greater community. Additionally, the leaders of the community cannot gain unfair advantages over the followers on the basis of monetary wealth. What greater statement could there be that God is no respecter of persons.

    Notice carefully that there are two different groups of recipients of the common economic resources of the community of followers of Christ: the members of the community and the needy (poor). The needy mentioned here may or may not be part of the faith community. The pagan Roman emperor, Julian the Apostate (who reigned from 355 to 363), was no friend of Christians. However, he famously observed that believers in Christ not only provided for their own poor but also for other poor people, too. Jesus made it clear that he had come to preach good news to the poor, and it was mostly the poor of this world who became his followers in the decades before Christianity was made into an official religion. I, myself, have seen hearts that were hard towards Christ and his followers quickly soften when they see true works of charity given to the poorest of the world by the followers of Jesus. And if there is one thing that I have seen that separates the true spiritual seekers from the spiritual charlatans, it is that their hearts are soft and caring towards the desperately poor.

    The New Testament Greek used two words for the poor: penes and ptochos. Penes referred to what we typically call the “working poor”. These were people who did not have many material possesions or property, but who were able to work as day-laborers in order to provide for themselves. Ptochos, on the other hand, were the desperately poor, the destitute ones. It is these needy ones that Jesus was talking about when he said that he was preaching good news to the poor. The poor (ptochos) widow who Jesus observed donating everything that she had to the temple was one of these very needy people. Jesus told the rich young ruler to sell everything that he had and give it to the poor (ptochos). When the apostles Peter and James recognized the work and calling of the apostle Paul, they gave him only one command: that he should remember the poor (ptochos), which was something that Paul was already eager to do. Paul also said that, though he was poor (ptochos), he and his spiritual brothers, through many difficult and dangerous journeys, were making many (spiritually) rich.

    It is at the very core and nature of true Christ-followers that they yearn to care for the desperately poor in their own communities and around the world. It is the rhythm, pulse, and heart-cry of Jesus and his disciples, and the sharing community provides a place of wisdom and gentleness for the redistribution of possessions to those who are truly in need.

    —————-

    For further reading related to this subject, I recommend the article “OK, I Admit It” at Behold: The Blog!

    http://www.beholdtheblog.org/ok.html

    Post tags: , , , , , ,

    11 Comments »

    1. I wasn’t aware of the two Greek words for the poor. Very interesting.

      This is (no pun intended) very rich material. I needed a reminder of its central message, too.

      Comment by Peter — September 7, 2008 @ 4:10 am

    2. I should mention that the story of the laborers in Matthew chapter 20 uses the Greek word penes for poor workers. This is the story about laborers who were hired at different times during the day but who were all paid the same wage at the end of the day.

      Comment by bill-o — September 7, 2008 @ 5:40 am

    3. This a very good article about the poor (ptochoi) in spirit:

      http://www.atgodstable.com/article_view.cgi?s=5&l=en&a=2

      Comment by bill-o — September 7, 2008 @ 5:51 am

    4. I’m glad you said that. After reading your post, I wondered where, if at all, the New Testament uses penes.

      Comment by Peter — September 7, 2008 @ 5:08 pm

    5. Having belonged to a monastic community I well know the joy and freedom that sharing everything in common provides. At a Monastic Symposium held at St. John’s University two years ago, I was amazed to find so many non-Catholics seeking to establish this way of life…not only as celibates but as families. I am awed at the kind of sharing that led husbands, wives, and children to share their homes and incomes with other families. I was easier, I think, as a celibate to give up personal ownership.

      Comment by Beryl Singleton Bissell — September 12, 2008 @ 4:39 pm

    6. As a Protestant Christian, I too am (pleasantly) surprised by the greater interest in monasticism in my faith community. I think that this is just the beginning of a growing interest with Protestants re: the monastic way of life. (It will take time for us Protestants to adjust to experiencing monasticism since there is very little, if any, of the monastic traditions in Protestant denominations.) Monasticism is a rich spiritual tradition in Christianity, and I look forward to seeing my fellow Protestants moving more in this direction in the days to come.

      Comment by bill-o — September 13, 2008 @ 7:55 am

    7. Just wondering–why is this marked as “uncategorized?”

      Comment by Apoblepo — September 16, 2008 @ 9:03 pm

    8. Yes, this should be categorized under the spirituality category. Good point.

      Comment by bill-o — September 23, 2008 @ 9:07 pm

    9. I think this particular issue gets at the heart of what has gone wrong in a lot of North American Christianity – we’ve forgotten the poor. I remember a number of years ago, a friend of mine telling me of a church community that said they were called to the yuppie community. In other words, they were called to the rich (only)! So, what happens when the poor comes in and makes all the yuppies uncomfortable? His clothes are dirty and perhaps he hasn’t showered. Maybe he is mentally challenged, and socially inept.

      The argument goes that the rich need God too. Well, that’s true, but usually we are in no danger of forgetting the rich. The rich come in our midst and we do indeed offer them the best seat (James 2:3). The sad thing is we are often blind to the fact that we do this very thing — because the poor do not come the way we would like — if only they would come clean, and emotionally stable!

      Or sometimes the poor are far away, the people look different from us, and an airplane ticket is so much to pay. Far better to spend that $2000 on pinball machines for our youth program than to go and show those with only the clothes on their back to wear that those of us in the richest country in the world care about them. Sure we can send money, but money does not tell them we care, hands and feet and faces only can express true love.

      In saying this, I do not in any way mean to detract from those who have remembered the poor of the world, for there are many fine communities of faith who do indeed have love for the poor as a defining value. The new monasticism movement is one. I just visited another in Australia. And many others could be mentioned. Not to mention, many individuals who sometimes are viewed as renegades for their refusal to bow to the prevailing Christian culture. For these movements, we are truly thankful, for they give us hope authentic Christianity still has a voice in the world.

      Comment by Maggie — September 28, 2008 @ 8:09 pm

    10. Maggie,

      Well said. Jesus explicitly said that he had come to preach the good news to the poor. There were a few well-off and faithful women who did support Jesus and the disciples (Luke 8:3), yet the emphasis there was on their giving and not necessarily on their receiving.

      I would be so bold to say that our faith would have no worth at all if God did not express his deep love for the poorest of the poor. It is when I realize that God loves the very poorest in this world that I have hope.

      Comment by bill-o — September 29, 2008 @ 7:12 pm

    11. Great thoughts Bill. There are actually some who have been developing a theology of the poor. The Vineyard Church movement has done a lot of work in this regard — one thing I appreciate about them as a movement is that caring for the poor is a defining value. I heard David Ruis speak on the subject some years back. One of the fundamental aspects of this theology is the concept of “the Other”, and that the poor are a representation of “the Other”. Because God is the ultimate “Other”, so when we love the poor we are loving those who are “other” as God is “other” — it thus teaches us how to love God. This is a very brief layman’s summary of the theology.

      I think the link between the concept of the “other” and the poor would make for a fascinating book, though it might not sell many copies.

      Comment by Maggie — September 29, 2008 @ 10:59 pm

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