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Bonaventure’s Commentary on Luke’s Gospel Thirty Days of Reflection and Prayer 10 Day Two: Read and meditate on Luke 2:1-8 Luke 2:7: “And Mary brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” Bonaventure tells us: Jesus’ poor mother gave birth to the poor Christ in such a way that he might invite us to embrace poverty and to be enriched by his penury, according to what 2 Corinthians 8:9 says: ‘You know the graciousness of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, although he was rich, became poor for your sakes.’ And by means of his all-embracing indigence he condemned avaricious opulence. Bernard says: ‘The Son of God chose a poor mother, who barely had sufficient swaddling clothes for him and had no place but a manger in which to lay him. His decision is not according to the world’s standards. Either he’s wrong, or the world is in error. But it is impossible for divine wisdom to be in error…. Therefore, he, who did not err, chose what was bothersome to the flesh, and in doing so, showed us how to choose what is better, more useful, what is highly to be chosen.’ As 2 Corinthians 6:10 says: “As poor, yet enriching many; as having nothing, but possessing all.” From this it becomes clearer to us that Jesus was really the Savior of the world, who from the first moment of his birth gave an example of virtue and showed the way of salvation. For in possessing a vile, humble, and poor bed, he already began to say that the world is to be despised with respect to concupiscence of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Already by example he began to demonstrate the state of perfection which consists in humility, austerity, and poverty. Also in this the Lord manifests the disposition of highest condescension, because not only did he become a little child for us, but also became poor and despised for us, so that he could truly say what the Psalm has: “I am poor and in labors from my youth” (87:16). 11 Reflection Sometimes critics say that Bonaventure, who professed a vow of poverty and was a poor Franciscan, was compelled to find a basis for his life style in the Gospels. In the past forty years Lukan scholars have underscored Luke’s strong emphasis on the theme of poor and rich. Bonaventure wasn’t putting a square text into a round hole. Rather he was attuned to the Lukan voice that gives a voice to the poor. Matthew does not emphasize the poverty of Jesus and his mother and gives a mere two verses to Jesus’ birth. It is only Luke who has Mary proclaim that it is characteristic of God to exalt the lowly and send the rich away empty. Only Luke narrates that the first disciples left all behind to follow Jesus. One looks in vain in Matthew, Mark, or John for the parables of the Rich Fool and of the Rich Man and Lazarus. Only Luke features the rich tax collector Zacchaeus as a hero who is rich in helping the poor. In this passage we begin to notice a popular Bonaventurian theme: Poverty is the hallmark of the heavenly Jerusalem whereas avarice is the common coin of evil Babylon. Jesus became poor so that he might enrich us by his poverty. Prayer Lord, you could have come into our world as a powerful king. Yet you came like billions over the years as a poor and vulnerable baby. Open our eyes to understand, appreciate, and imitate your love for all of us, especially the poor. ...

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