Confession #2

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.