5th Sunday of Ordinary Time/ “Do the Poor Deserve a Palace?”
5th Sunday of Ordinary Time/ “Do the Poor Deserve a Palace?”
Many times, people of faith believe that spiritual activity should produce concrete results. Our prayer should change the world. Our fasts should make us ethically stronger. We get frustrated that things don’t change. And what do we do? We double down. We find another prayer to say. We might deny ourselves some more.
If we have those feelings, we are not unlike the people in the time of Third Isaiah who wrote the first lesson today from the Old Testament. Anybody who knows their Bible would say to me. “Wait a minute Father there is only one Book of the Prophet Isaiah.” But Scripture scholars would say that there were three different people who wrote the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. The three prophets wrote at different times in history.
First Isaiah wrote before the fall Jerusalem. He predicted that the nation was going to be conquered by a foreign power. Second Isaiah wrote during the time of the Babylonian exile. He assured the people that one day they would return to Jerusalem. Third Isaiah wrote his prophesies after the people had come back to Jerusalem.
At this time, the people had rebuilt the temple. At this time there was also a fight over which set of priests were going to control the temple. Religious authorities were trying to exert their authority. The priests said to the people, “You need to make sacrifice. You need to fast. You need to pray at the temple.” All this was going on, but there was still injustice in society. People were suffering from depravation. Something was out of kilter in the religious lives of the people. Third Isaiah reminds the Israel that the most important part of religious life is charity. We can pray all we want, but if we don’t act on our faith in concrete ways than it is meaningless.
During the last week a news came out concerning the new palace for the poor in Rome. A few steps from the colonnade of St. Peter’s square is a building called the Palazzo Mig li or i. The building is a house that was owned by a wealthy family that was deeded to the Vatican in 1930. The home is large. And it has carved wooden ceilings. Artwork covers its wall. A few years ago, the order of sisters that inhabited the building for 70 years moved to a new location.
Always trying to increase income for St. Peter’s the business managers of the Vatican looked at the building deciding this would be an ideal location for a luxury hotel. People would pay top dollar to be able to stay a few steps from the Vatican in an ornate palace. All the plans seemed to be coming together. But then Pope Francis stepped in.
If anyone has ever been to St. Peter’s at night you know that people sleep in doorways and in the square throughout the year. Police usually come through the area at 5 a.m. to move the homeless away before the tourists start arriving. Francis decided that there was a need for another place for the street people to sleep. He ordered that Palazzo Migliori be turned into a shelter for 50 residents. And it has happened. There are comfortable bedrooms. New bathrooms and showers were put in. People eat healthy meals together. During the day there is psychological counseling and job training.
The Vatican insisted that some of the homeless people help with the renovation. The construction company was so impressed with their work that they hired the crew. Blessings have occurred already. Some people have gone back to their families. Others have gotten jobs. When Francis came to dedicate the shelter in November, he was asked why he would turn an ornate palace into a homeless shelter. He said simply, “Beauty heals.” The shelter is not only warm, dry and safe, but it is beautiful atmosphere.
Jesus speaks about salt in the Gospel. He asks what good is salt if it goes flat. We have people who bring spice to life. Usually, these people don’t operate like everyone else in the world. A palace that is turned into a luxury hotel seems logical. A palace turned into a homeless shelter makes no sense. But that is what Francis has done. He excites us with his willingness to look at things in a different way.
The Prophet Isaiah challenges people to live their religious lives differently. God does not just want more prayers and fasting. No, God wants us to act after our prayers and fasting. The Lord wants us to bestow our bread on the hungry. God wants his people to be concerned about the downtrodden.
Our faith comes alive when it causes us to do something counterintuitive. Our religion has meaning when we move with the spirit. When we do, we might make palaces into homes for the poor.