The poor are always with you.
Jesus spoke these words to his disciples, who were questioning him about why he allowed Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, to anoint him with costly perfume shortly before his death. They contended, rightly I might add, that the perfume could have been sold and the proceeds given to the poor. Yet, Jesus knew, as Mary apparently did to some extent as well, that what was in the offing was a crisis of as-of-yet unseen potential. Theologically speaking, it would be a trinitarian crisis as the Son of God suffered torture and death for the sake of us humans and our salvation (so says the Nicene Creed).
So, was Jesus preoccupied? Were his true colors coming out? Was working among the poor not really as important as he had led his followers to believe? Certainly not! Rather, this unique moment in history legitimated Mary's actions.
So, what about the poor? What does Jesus expect of us, his followers, all these years later? At least two things. First, he expects us to read his words honestly, appreciating the context in which they were spoken. Saying that the poor are present always simply means that, ouside of the uniqueness of Jesus' death and resurrection, there is (and always will be) ample opportunity and demand to work for the alleviation of poverty. Second, Jesus demands that resources be given to stem the tide of poverty. The disciples' assessment of the situation would have been correct in any other circumstance. When you think about it, they really had learned this lesson well.
All this makes me wonder about my own life, my priorities, my pursuit of raises and advancement in work. What am I doing to alleviate poverty? Not feeling particularly guilty here, but, honestly, I do not do enough. I do not give enough, to be sure, but I also do not spend enough time among the poor. And, yet, no matter how much I try to ignore poverty, it's always there.
Guess this makes me a liberal too.
Fiddler
Not as easy as it looks. Are his arms outstretched in the joy of the dance, or because my man, Tevya, is being pulled in two different directions?
John
Your humble host sailing in Gulf Shores, AL 2007
Sue NYC Spring 2008
Is she thoughtful, praying, sad? I love this picture because it's almost as if we get to peer into her soul.
Josh and Sherry
Sherry, our daughter-in-law, is so unimpressed with Josh here. Classic Josh!
Meg at my Ph.D. graduation 2007
This girl just gets prettier and prettier!
Our next president
I am throwing my political clout, which is considerable, behind this man.
2 comments:
No, if you were classically liberal, you would think that throwing money at the problem of poverty would some how make it better. Or even worse, you would have to think that some day we could eradicate poverty.
But the culture of poverty percolates into things like money. But, I always thought that Jesus was citing Numbers 15:11, which puts his comments in the context of both our relationship to the poor and maintains the direct allusion to the appropriateness of time sensitivity with Jesus.
Dru,
I agree, Jesus is quoting the OT (Deuteronomy 15:11). And, I also agree that just throwing money at the problem will not solve the problem, at least not completely. At the same time, I would say that the amount of money being thrown into the military industrial complex (what a Kennedy-esque term) by our government is hard to stomach when there is such rampant poverty in the world! Although we will not eradicate poverty any more than we can change the nature of the human person, we can reorient our priorities.
Of course, I am talking primarily to a Christian world. Why do we continue to thirst after the things that moths devour and rust corrupts? Seriously, how much money is enough? I am totally cool with people making a good living. I say, Make a ton of it! I just want folks to remember that to whom much is given (though we like to think we've earned it), from these much is required. Money comes with responsibility. And, the stuff corrupts so easily. Perhaps I am preaching to the choir.
Maybe I am not a classic liberal, but I am, at the very least, an unconservative. How's that for a new term? I just can't stand not maintaining silence on these issues any longer. A little intellectual catharsis here.
Hey, thanks for the post. I really appreciate it.
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