Prius and Poverty

                After the insurance company consigned my beloved Corolla into oblivion, I decided to upgrade and purchase a "pre-owned" Prius. It had certain options that are essential to me. First, it has a rear camera, so I won't bump into any more fire hydrants, pillars, and telephone poles. And it has a navigation system built in.

Some of you may be geographically rooted on this earth. I tend to overthink geography ("The sun isn't exactly straight up, so how could it be noon?") and misinterpret road signs ("Does I-275N mean that I am north going south, or does it mean I am south moving north?"). I am the one who missed the turnoff to the Cincinnati Airport and ended up in Indiana.

                So I decided to splurge on the Prius. It also gives me great gas mileage, so I save a lot on gas.

                But it gives me pause, that it's the people with money who get the best deals. A poor person doesn't own a Prius. He owns a 23-year-old clunker that gets 12 miles to the gallon and breaks down every three months. Or she doesn't even have a car and spends $5.50 every time she takes a bus to go to the supermarket.

It's the people with money who get the car with the best gas mileage, the best interest rate on their credit cards, the best loan rates, the best discounts on jewelry, and the best opportunity to eat good food. It's expensive to be poor.

                If you're poor and don't live near a big supermarket, you buy your milk at the corner market, and pay more for it there. If you're poor, you can't afford to buy broccoli and artichokes because macaroni and cheese is cheaper and fills your stomach more. And if you're a single mom with three kids and two jobs, and you spend an hour on the bus to get home, it's hard to take the experts' advice and cook your dinner from scratch, even if you could afford all the ingredients. It's expensive to be poor.

                If you're poor, you have no equity in your home because it's a rental and it costs more money to rent that place than a mortgage would, but you can't afford to buy a home. It's expensive to be poor.

                Jesus was poor. He knew their struggles. And he knew his Scriptures, and what God has to say about the poor. Poverty and misery are not what God intends for God's children. In God's Beloved Community, all  people will feast at the Heavenly Banquet. Our own Holy Eucharist is a foretaste of that experience, where we stand (or kneel) side by side and partake of the Body and Blood of Christ, in communion not only with God but also with all people around the world and in every generation, equally beloved in the eyes of God, and equally rich in dignity, respect, and love that God bestows on all of us.  And no one is treated poorly in God's Beloved Community.

                And maybe someday, someday, we can say the same about earth's community.