There is a story about a man who sought out a spiritual guide for advice.
The guide welcomed the man and proceeded to pour him a cup of coffee. When the cup overflowed, the spiritual guide kept pouring. When the saucer spilled over with coffee, the guide kept pouring. When the hot coffee started stinging the man’s fingers, he complained loudly, “What are you doing?”
The spiritual guide calmly replied, “I’m teaching you a lesson. You come to me seeking spiritual fulfillment, but you are already full. There is simply no room for anything else. Go home and empty yourself. Then come back with a heart that has room for God.“
Jesus says to us in today’s Gospel: “Woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry” (Luke 6:17, 20-26). Jesus is telling us that we are full of OURSELVES, our thoughts, our needs, our desires and our fantasies.
In today’s Gospel Jesus shares the Beatitudes with us. Allow me to share these in a poetic form:
Blessed and Warned
Blessed are those with empty hands,
For heaven’s treasure fills their lands.
The world may mock, but they will see,
A kingdom built eternally.
Blessed are those who cry today,
For joy will chase their tears away.
The hungry souls will soon be fed,
With lasting hope and daily bread.
But woe to those who live in pride,
With wealth and power on their side.
They think they’ve won, but soon they’ll know,
That fleeting riches bring deep woe.
Woe to the ones who laugh and boast,
Who seek applause and crave the most.
For sorrow waits behind their door,
And empty echoes fill their core.
So hold on strong through trials near,
Your joy will come — be of good cheer.
The saints before you walked this way,
And found their home in light’s embrace.
How often are YOU filled with YOURSELF, your thoughts, your needs, your desires and your fantasies that YOU have no room for God or the poor and disadvantaged in YOUR life?
WHEN YOU LET GO, SOMETHING MAGICAL HAPPENS! YOU GIVE GOD ROOM TO WORK IN YOUR HEART!!
You will find 365 other wonderful poems in my book, A POEM A DAY TO PRAY 2025. https://treatsforthesoul.org/a-poem-a-day-to-pray/
