Jesus famously said to his disciples that the poor will
always be with them (Mark 14:7). A woman came to the house of Simon the leper
and anointed Jesus with expensive perfume from an alabaster jar. Some
complained at the extravagance of this act of devotion and worship, protesting
that it could have been sold and the money shared. Jesus defends her actions,
saying that the poor will always be there, and those watching can express their
kindness to them at anytime.
People have struggled with this episode, seeing it as Jesus
being resigned to the economic injustices of his day, simply offering the hope
of a bit of charity. Others have suggested he was colluding with those very
inequalities. However, I believe it’s a very frank description of how human
nature works – that there will be winners and losers economically in this life,
and human selfishness and greed will make those divisions more acute and
extreme.
Poverty has many causes, of course, and in Jesus’ time,
wealth was seen as a sign of God’s blessing. The wealthy self-righteous often
saw the poor as responsible for their own fate. However, in Jesus’ world (as in
ours), poverty was much more a consequence of where in the world you were born.
Now as then, the weather, wars, natural disaster, lack of opportunities, or
even unjust trading practises leave so many in circumstances where they depend
on others for help.
In Jesus’ time the best the poor could hope for was support
from family, or the charity of strangers. Jesus clearly expected his followers
to be generous. In the early church, widows and orphans were supported. The
people held possessions in common (Acts 2:44-45), and eventually organised a
kind of welfare system so some could concentrate on spreading the message, and
others on caring for the poor (Acts 6:1-6).
Today churches again find themselves on the front line of
helping people in need. In Morecambe, the Foodbank and other centres for help,
such as our friends at West End Impact have been set up by Christians. Many who
volunteer and donate come from the churches. Here at MPC, we are supporting
Morecambe Bay Community Primary School in providing meals for children who need
them during the school holidays. It would be great to think that one day these
resources won’t be needed. But in the meantime, Jesus’ words that the poor will
always be with us should prompt those of us who can to campaign, give,
volunteer or help to do what we can to meet needs close at hand, as well as
those far away.
Mike Peatman
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