Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11The
Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is
on me, because the Lord has
anointed me to proclaim good news to the
poor.He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to
proclaim freedom for the captives and release from
darkness for the prisoners,[a]2 to proclaim the year of
the Lord’s favor and
the day of vengeance of our God,to comfort all who mourn,3 and
provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead
of ashes,the oil of joy instead of mourning,and a
garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.They
will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of
the Lord for
the display of his splendor.4 They will rebuild the ancient
ruins and restore the places long devastated;they will
renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for
generations.“For I, the Lord,
love justice; I hate robbery and wrongdoing.In my
faithfulness I will reward my people and make an
everlasting covenant with them.9 Their
descendants will be known among the nations and
their offspring among the peoples.All who see them will acknowledge that
they are a people the Lord has
blessed.”10 I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul
rejoices in my God.For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and
arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,as a bridegroom adorns his
head like a priest, and as a bride adorns
herself with her jewels.11 For as the soil makes the sprout
come up and a garden causes seeds to grow,so the
Sovereign Lord will make
righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.
John 12:1-11
12 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to
Sermon “The Poor We Always Have With Us”
I had an experience a few years ago. It was in my first pastorate.
A lady came into my office, asking for help. She looked desperate. She was dressed in dirty, old clothes. She had a baby in her arms. She was a single, unwed mother. She was 15 years old when she became pregnant, and she’d run away from home. She'd been gone for 2 years, but the night before coming to my office she decided to return home to her parents--baby and all. She told me she came to the church hoping I could give her money for a bus ride.I hesitated. The church usually tries to help people like this, but as a general rule, it’s usually best not to simply give away money.
I had an experience a few years ago. It was in my first pastorate.
A lady came into my office, asking for help. She looked desperate. She was dressed in dirty, old clothes. She had a baby in her arms. She was a single, unwed mother. She was 15 years old when she became pregnant, and she’d run away from home. She'd been gone for 2 years, but the night before coming to my office she decided to return home to her parents--baby and all. She told me she came to the church hoping I could give her money for a bus ride.I hesitated. The church usually tries to help people like this, but as a general rule, it’s usually best not to simply give away money.
Besides, I only had ten bucks in my pocket. There was no money around the
church. Normally, with cases like this I'd call the treasurer of the local
minister's fund. All of the ministers in that town tried to use a common fund
for things like this. But it was 5:00 on a Friday and I knew I'd have trouble
getting the money from the minister's fund.
Then the baby started crying. I finally gave her what money I had and wished her well.
Then the baby started crying. I finally gave her what money I had and wished her well.
About a week
later, I saw her. I was at the Salvation Army visiting the minister there – you
know they call ministers “Captains” in the Salvation Army. He and I were
talking when I caught sight of her in the far corner of the room. So I
asked the Captain, “You know that girl?”
“You bet I do,” he told me. “Let
me tell you. She has quite a scam. Every Friday, she has a baby
sitting job. And she takes the baby she’s caring for and drives around
town from church to church, giving ministers a sob story and asking for
money. And if the ministers show any hesitation at all, she’ll reach down
and pinch that baby on the behind. Makes the baby cry!”
I looked at the
Salvation Army minister and said, “You know, it’s hard to believe anyone would
fall for that!”
What are Christians supposed to do with the poor?Isaiah tells us
to proclaim a message of good news to the poor, but what news is
that? What are we to do with the poor?The Gospel of John raises this
question as well as we read this passage and watch how Christ enjoys an
expensive anointing of perfume on his feet, and as we listen to a harsh rebuke
by Judas.What are Christians supposed to do with the poor?Sometimes we feel
like avoiding the whole subject. After all, it is easy to get the feeling
that these people are not poor and needy, but lazy and conniving. That young
lady with the baby, she swindled me out of ten dollars! She wasn’t poor
and needy. She was just creative!
It is so easy to drive through the
intersections and see the poor panhandling from car to car. It is easy to
see the homeless huddled around bridges and old buildings in downtown Orlando
Now – is she just looking for a little more Christmas money?
Maybe. But having worked with the homeless in my ministry, I know that she may
well be like many other women – she walked out of an abusive marriage and took
her son, and their only home is that car, which also contains everything they
own in the world.
Which is it? Con artist or a poor woman needing help?
One of the frustrations of poverty is the struggle of whom to help.But that is not the only frustration with dealing with the poverty around us.
What are Christians supposed to do with the poor?
To that question you often want to just raise your hands in frustration and say, “Nothing can be done. There are too many of them.”Sometimes we want to say – “The poor will always be with us.” --- Which is an interesting thing to say. Because that is what Jesus says.Jesus says it in this morning’s Gospel lesson. Jesus is in a private home, at a gathering held in his honor.[1]
Which is it? Con artist or a poor woman needing help?
One of the frustrations of poverty is the struggle of whom to help.But that is not the only frustration with dealing with the poverty around us.
What are Christians supposed to do with the poor?
To that question you often want to just raise your hands in frustration and say, “Nothing can be done. There are too many of them.”Sometimes we want to say – “The poor will always be with us.” --- Which is an interesting thing to say. Because that is what Jesus says.Jesus says it in this morning’s Gospel lesson. Jesus is in a private home, at a gathering held in his honor.[1]
Jesus has just raised Lazarus from the dead. What might have been planned
as a wake has suddenly become a celebration. Jesus is there. The
disciples are there. Martha and Mary, the two sisters of Lazarus, are
also there. Martha is busily serving everyone, while Mary is at the feet
of Jesus.[2] Mary
takes a container of very expensive perfume and anoints the feet of Jesus.
She pours the perfume on the feet of Jesus and dries it with her hair.Mary
gives a gift that heals the skin and relieves the soul of stress.
Understand that in that culture, people walked everywhere. Very seldom
did Jesus ride anywhere – on a chariot, wagon or on an animal. He
walked. We always see him walking in Scripture. He’s walking here,
he’s walking there.
And he’s walking with sandals. No Doctor Shoals footpads. No nice
shoes. His feet would grow tired and
dirty.
To have someone
pour oil or perfume on your feet and to wash them and massage them dry was a
wonderful way of
relaxing.
And into this
wonderful moment, comes the voice of reason. The voice of reality.
The voice of
responsibility.
“We could
have sold that perfume and given the money to the
poor!”
And that is
the voice of reason, the voice of reality, the voice of
responsibility. Of
course, it is also the voice of
Judas.
But forget for a
moment who raises this issue.
It’s a good issue.
It’s
an important issue.
What are Christians supposed to do with the poor?
When Jesus says, “You will always have the poor among you,” there is a danger that many of us will misinterpret what he says.
We will always have the poor.
Can’t do a thing about it.
So why try?
But that interpretation is inconsistent with the whole of Scripture.In the Old Testament, the Word of God says, "If in any of the towns in the land ... there is a fellow Israelite in need, then do not be selfish and refuse to help him. Instead, be generous and lend him as much as he needs. Do not refuse to lend him something." (Dt. 15:7-11)
What are Christians supposed to do with the poor?
When Jesus says, “You will always have the poor among you,” there is a danger that many of us will misinterpret what he says.
We will always have the poor.
Can’t do a thing about it.
So why try?
But that interpretation is inconsistent with the whole of Scripture.In the Old Testament, the Word of God says, "If in any of the towns in the land ... there is a fellow Israelite in need, then do not be selfish and refuse to help him. Instead, be generous and lend him as much as he needs. Do not refuse to lend him something." (Dt. 15:7-11)
In Psalm 82, we are reminded to "defend the poor
and the fatherless, do justice to the afflicted and the needy."
Proverbs 28 says "Give to the poor and you will never be in need. If you close your eyes to the poor, many people will curse you."
We hear Jesus say, "The poor will always be with us," and we hear that as permission to let it go at that; to do nothing. The poor will always be with us, can't do anything about it. Forget about them.
But that is not an acceptable attitude to take toward the poor.
Which still leaves us with the question, what does the Christian do about the poor in our communities?
Getting back to the Gospel reading for this morning, it is actually a mistake to say that Jesus said that the poor will always be with you. He said it, yes, but he was actually quoting an Old Testament passage, Deuteronomy 15, which is our Old Testament lesson for today.
Proverbs 28 says "Give to the poor and you will never be in need. If you close your eyes to the poor, many people will curse you."
We hear Jesus say, "The poor will always be with us," and we hear that as permission to let it go at that; to do nothing. The poor will always be with us, can't do anything about it. Forget about them.
But that is not an acceptable attitude to take toward the poor.
Which still leaves us with the question, what does the Christian do about the poor in our communities?
Getting back to the Gospel reading for this morning, it is actually a mistake to say that Jesus said that the poor will always be with you. He said it, yes, but he was actually quoting an Old Testament passage, Deuteronomy 15, which is our Old Testament lesson for today.
The Old Testament
book of Deuteronomy is a collection of speeches that Moses delivers to the Jews
before they entered into the promised land. In the portion we read for
our Old Testament lesson, Moses is addressing a number of economic
subjects. He makes the bold statement, “There should be no poor among
you.”
Well, that would make it easy for us to deal with poverty in our community. We just don’t have any!
But almost as soon as Moses says what Jesus will later quote in John’s Gospel – “There will always be poor people in the land.”
Now in between the statement of the ideal – there should be no poor among you, and the statement of the reality – there will always be poor among you, Moses answers the question, “
What should the Christian do about the poor in our communities?”
Well, that would make it easy for us to deal with poverty in our community. We just don’t have any!
But almost as soon as Moses says what Jesus will later quote in John’s Gospel – “There will always be poor people in the land.”
Now in between the statement of the ideal – there should be no poor among you, and the statement of the reality – there will always be poor among you, Moses answers the question, “
What should the Christian do about the poor in our communities?”
Our tendency is often to close our eyes to them.
Ignore them.
Become frustrated because we can’t tell the poor and needy from the lazy and conniving.
Against those approaches, Moses says, “if there is a poor person among you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs … Give generously and do so without a grudging heart.”
Ignore them.
Become frustrated because we can’t tell the poor and needy from the lazy and conniving.
Against those approaches, Moses says, “if there is a poor person among you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs … Give generously and do so without a grudging heart.”
And in the context of the Old Testament, it becomes
clear that this is not a case in which this is "Ho hum, we always have the
poor with us," But rather it is a case of "Great news, we always have
the poor with us!"
This is not a burden, "you
always have the poor with you."
It is a gift, "You always have the poor with you, you always have before you opportunities to give, you always have before you opportunities to serve God."
It is a gift, "You always have the poor with you, you always have before you opportunities to give, you always have before you opportunities to serve God."
This is the key to understanding our Gospel lesson for today.
Service to Christ is a joy.
This is the answer to what we are to do with the poor.
We serve them with joy.
We give to them, not with a grudging heart, but with generosity and pleasure.But this is also the answer to much more.
This is the answer to how we deal with almost any situation.Joyful service.
This is what Mary does. She takes the expensive ointment and anoints the feet of Jesus. She serves him with joy.
This is what Martha does. She serves the people gathered at
the dinner that is being held in honor of Jesus.The one exception to this is
Judas. Unlike nearly everyone else in this text, he is not serving anyone
with joy. He is, in fact critical and complaining. But of course,
Judas is often the exception to Christian conduct.When Judas rebukes Jesus and
reminds him that this perfume could have been sold for a large amount – a
year’s wages. In response Jesus reminds him that the poor will always be
with us. As we have said, when Jesus says this, he is quoting the Old
Testament, and in the Old Testament, that statement went onto say that we
therefore always have the opportunity to serve God by serving the poor. Jesus
is reminding Judas to look for the opportunity to help the poor, and to serve
them with joy.I will confess that there is a part of me that doesn’t want to
hear that Word of God.
I’ve told you the story of being swindled out of $10 early
in my ministry by that young lady who brought that baby into my office.
She had a great story, and she had me pegged pretty well, knowing that by
pinching that baby’s rear end I’d cough of that money just to see them go on
their way.
I’ve been swindled out of more than that over the years.I know there
are people out there who are lazy and conniving.
I’ve met them.
I’ve met them.
You’ve met them.
But
I also know there are many people in this community who really are in
need. They really are poor. They desperately need help. They
are not lazy. They are lost.It’s OK for us to enjoy life. Jesus
did. He enjoyed the benefit of that expensive perfume being rubbed on his
feet.But it’s not OK for us to turn our back on those in our community who need
our attention.
There is in Jesus’ response to Judas, a bit of a rebuke. “Judas, you
always have the poor – so what have you been doing for them lately?”
We always have the poor.
We always have the opportunity to serve.
What opportunities have we taken lately?
Our church is blessed to have a large Good Samaritan Fund. We give funds
to those who need it. We sometimes help people we know very well, and
sometimes we help total strangers.
We screen people as carefully as we can. We pay their power bill or their
rent or secure food for them. We do everything we can to avoid giving
them money that they may use for drugs or alcohol. We try to meet their
needs – not their desires.
Most of the time we send them to the Community Food and Outreach Center, near the intersection of Orange and Michigan.
If you or I give someone $50 for food, or if we use the Good Samaritan Fund to give $50 for food, then that person can go to Publix and buy $50 of food. But give that $50 to CFOC and that person is able to buy what turns out to be $75 or more worth of food.
More importantly, when a person shows up at Community Food and Outreach
counselors meet with the person. They teach the person how to budget
their money, how to set priorities, how to get out of poverty. They give
a hand up not a hand out.
When you consider Isaiah’s call for us to proclaim good news to the poor, that
is much better news than a few dollars – a way to get out of poverty. The
best news of all.
All homeless ministries that I know of tell us that we should never give money,
because money does not help. Not in the long run. The panhandler
who is on the streets on Monday and receives money, will be in that same spot
on Tuesday, Wednesday, so forth.
One way to avoid giving money is to give food. One of the elders of this
church has told me that she always carries a small amount of food with her – a
package of food or a small can with a flip lid – and she gives food, not money.
We almost always have small bags of food in the church office to give out to
those in need.
The two cents a meal program – it goes to help fight hunger beyond our local
church. The funds you give in the container in the narthex, or on the
tables in Conway Hall at some of the events we have - all that goes to
the Presbytery to fight hunger in this country and around the world.
There are times when we gather groups of people who do not give money, but
time, serving in soup kitchens here in Orlando
We all have many opportunities to
give to the poor – but we have to make use of those opportunities.
Some of these opportunities we can do as a church.
Some of them we find as individuals
in one-on-one situations.
There are many, many ways to help the poor. And the opportunities are endless. Jesus was right – you always have the poor with you. You always have the
opportunity to serve with joy and generosity. Let's do so with joy.
Copyright
W Maynard Pittendreigh
2014
[1] It might be assumed by the reader
that the home was that of the family of Lazarus/Mary/Martha. However, in
Mark 14:3-5, we read, “While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the
home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of
very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the
perfume on his head. Some of those present were saying indignantly to one
another, "Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than
a year's wages and the money given to the poor." And they rebuked her
harshly.” You find this also in Matthew 26.
[2] Mary and Martha show up three times
in Scripture. The raising of Lazarus in John 11, this party in John 12,
and in Luke 10:38-42. The passage in Luke have very similar
parallels. Martha is working, which Mary is sitting at the feet of Jesus.
In Luke, however, there is no anointing with perfume. There, Martha
complains to Jesus, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do
the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" Jesus defends Mary.
