22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time: Are We Friends with the Poor?

In today's Gospel on humility, Jesus indicates a remedy for pride, which is choosing to associate ourselves only with those who can offer some kind of "return" on our investment in them--people who have connections or influence or benefit us in some way, or people whose company we enjoy. But Jesus tells us today to have friends who do not provide us this "return", but rather cannot give us anything back because of their poverty and neediness. Do we have friends who are poor? This is what Jesus invites us to consider today.