Caring for the poor is not some unique passion of mine. My awareness of my need to care for the poor came during some of the more spiritual dark times of my life, when I picked up my Bible and starting reading the words of Jesus…
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19)
“But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed.” (Luke 14:13)
‘Most certainly I tell you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
And then this one:
Luke 10:27-37
He answered: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'”
“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins[e] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
rock on man….people think you have to have some sort of “calling” in order to do this sort of ministry, dude Jesus COMMMANDED all of us to be his vessal to the poor…
Hm. Have read that first passage in Luke countless times, but it struck me differently today.
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has…” I’ve always read this as perscriptive, ie. if you believed that Spirit of the Lord is on you, you will do these things. But this morning it struck me as being descriptive, ie. if you want evidence of the Spirit of the Lord in a person’s life, look for those who preach good news to the poor, proclaim freedom for the prisoners, usher in recovery of sight for the blind, release the oppressed, and proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
So… if there is no evidence, then…?
wilsonian,
That’s so right on. It didn’t strike me that way till someone pointed out how Jesus ‘evangelized.’ In one of the few encounters when he’s asked point blank about being the Messiah it goes like this:
Matt 11:3
When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples 3to ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?”
4Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosyare cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.”
Clearly Jesus was confident of his evidence.
Yes, yes! That’s just it, isn’t it.
Great Word! Keep it up…
Thanks for this, brother!! It’s up to all of us to care for each other! Sometimes I can help a poor person…sometimes I AM a poor person…
Yes!! You guy's are so right. What deeply saddens me is, more and more I hear pastor's and congregation members and just people on the streat all speeking neg. of the poor and the sick. We all need to remember they are the chosen/blessed. We are commanded to not only bring the word of God to them but to share our riches with them. Our riches could be as simple as the word of God or it could be harder things that would mean personal sacrafice on our part ie. feeding, housing, clothing or getting med's or dr. appt's they need.