why waste this treasure?

 Today we read from these verses in the One Year Bible:

Numbers 10:1-11:23
Mark 14:1-21
Psalm 51:1-19
Proverbs 10:31-32 

Let's look at Mark. A woman pours some expensive perfume on Jesus. Some indignant people complain, saying, "Why did she waste this expensive perfume? She could have sold it and the money given to the poor!" And this looks like a good argument on the surface. But Jesus teaches them that while they always have the poor to take care of, and should, that they should be honoring Jesus, who is God among them. He said they would not always have Him in person to honor. And then He went on to say that her deed would be told throughout the world. And so it has been, even in this blog.

Now let's look at the treasures of the Vatican. Many people, even devout Catholics, complain about all of the amazing treasure that the Vatican owns. "They should sell all of that art and gold and use the money to feed to poor!" they complain. Sound familiar? Here's the thing. Both Jesus AND the Catholic Church already help the poor. Take a look at this website. The Catholic Church is, today, the largest charitable organization in the world. It runs more hospitals, nursing homes, hospices, and other charities than any other organization. And, as you might suspect, this is nothing new. The Catholic Church has been taking care of the sick, hungry, and poor for hundreds of years. No other organization comes close. So they ARE taking care of the poor.

But if they sold their art and their gold, someone else would now own it and probably put it in their homes where no one will see it - instead of it being on display for everyone to come see whenever they want. And there would STILL be poor people to take care (and the Church would still be doing it.)

How can YOU help take care of poor people today? The Church would certainly appreciate your help.

God, thanks for reminding us to take care of the poor - and to keep what's most important first: You.