The Church Needs the Poor

CityGatesAdmin — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 02:36:30 GMT

Deborah Lloyd, pastor of the Bridge Church in Portand, took a trip to India recently, and wrote a paper for her seminary class on what she found there. It is about the poor. It is an attempt to paint the modern issue of who the poor are with the paintbrush of Jesus' words in the scriptures. It is long, and well worth the time spent in reading it.

Does this challenge your perception of who Jesus was referring to when He spoke of the poor? Of what our responses should be? Your comments would be very much appreciated

The Story
Samina is one of the approximately 40,000 homeless in Chennai. She is third generation homeless, her mother and grandmother have never slept indoors in their entire lives, but for a night here or there, and chances are neither will she. She dreams for the day when she will have a tarp to sleep under at night. According to Chennai social services that would make her officially no longer homeless.

I sat on the bed in my hotel room thinking about Samina that night. My mind went to the dusty back lot where we spent an afternoon with Chennai’s homeless. Our hosts had provided some cardboard posters that they had ripped of a wall so that we would not have to sit directly on the ground like they did. School children were being bussed in to this lot for their weekly baseball game. The dust roiled around us, got in our mouths and eyes. There were about six of us students and a dozen or so homeless. These were the poorest of the poor in Chennai. What struck me immediately is how beautiful they each were. The women wore a brightly colored saris that were clean and in good repair. Each female had an ornament in her nose, earrings and a stack of colorful arm bracelets. Our male host donned a pure white shirt and pants made from cotton. Their bodies were clean and their eyes were clear. How unlike our homeless they seemed.

We would ask questions, pause for the roar of the school busses as they passed, cough out the dust we had involuntarily inhaled and then one of our new friends would answer through the interpreter. “Do you work?” Rainier ventured. “Yes, we all have fulltime jobs selling things on the street. We work twelve hours a day.” They had given up an afternoon of work and income just to meet with us. “Where do you have your babies?” I asked. This question stirred up some discord with lots of chattering going back and forth. Since there were a few newborns and two pregnant women in their group there seemed to be lots of opinions and plans. “Either in a cheap hotel room or right here,” was their consensus. I felt my heart wobble.

Our interpreter began to explain to us that local corrupt policemen victimize homeless females like Samina and her mother by selling them into prostitution. Sometimes they are forced back onto the streets within days of giving birth. My eyes were now brimming with tears; I could no longer hold them back. These women seemed so much like me but for a simple twist of fate: they were born in India rather than America. It was this detail that separated these women from the realization of their dreams. I felt guilty for the privilege that I enjoy. I was reminded of Bono’s voice in a U2 song, “Where you live should not decide whether you live or whether you die.” ( U2 Crumbs From My Table, How to Dismantle a Bomb)

So there I sat that evening as my passion went into overdrive. I tried to make sense of this experience. How could I help? I had an all consuming desire to move to India and spend the last few chapters of my life working on behalf of my downtrodden Indian sisters. My heart was broken for their plight and their pain. I didn’t know how it should look; I just knew that I needed to do something. It was imperative to me that I not forget the intensity of this moment that I not forget what I saw in Samina’s eyes.

I recounted our other Indian acquaintances: the bright young graduate student that was our interpreter and tour guide on the street. He works tirelessly for the rights of the homeless. I remembered the group that rescues women and children who are factory slaves or slaves in the sex trade. I thought of the meeting we attended for a women’s microfinance group in the ghetto and the woman who started community colleges for poor women. I thought of all the brilliant Indians, young and old, male and female we had enjoyed as speakers and tour guides. I thought about Tim and Pam, our YWAM hosts and veterans of more than twenty years in Chennai, who have worked their way out of the job. They have returned to the States.

Tim told us, “If we are to be any further use we would have to learn the languages. The time and dedication that it would require seems unnecessary since there are so many compassionate, brilliant Indians who already know the languages of India.” Tim’s words gave me pause. As I ruminated over them I realized something: India does not need me, at least not in the flesh, not now. How disappointing that seemed. I do not like to be held back. I am a woman who follows her passion and for me it was love at first sight when United Airlines disgorged me into Chennai. What, then, should my role be? Then a prayer simple and sweet came to my lips, “Jesus, you love them more than I do. What shall I do?” Within minutes my creative mind began to flood with ideas.

My Thoughts

Some of those ideas have taken shape. I asked myself this question: How many friends and acquaintances do I have that would come together once a month to hear about missional/social justice giving opportunities? Who wouldn’t give thirty dollars per month to help a cause that she felt connected to personally? That thought gave rise to Shaken and Stirred. The name is borrowed from James Bond; he likes his martinis shaken, not stirred. Knowing what is really going on in the world will leave you Shaken and Stirred. We created a sophisticated, metropolitan style party, with cocktails and fancy horsdouvers. Different relief organizations have come and to present their causes with words and pictures. The affair attracts young professionals who do not necessarily go to a church but have a heart for social justice and want to give money. Successfully, dollars are going overseas and into the hands of Christian organizations that work for social justice.

Another vision, still in the developmental stage, is to create a way to send college students to India for three months at a time to teach English to the homeless. English is the language of commerce and the language of education. The English language is possibly the most empowering intellectual tool that we can put into the hands of India’s homeless. A program like this would change lives forever: the homeless person becomes financially empowered and the college student becomes forever marked by compassion. Tony Campolo suggests that all college students take off year number two to volunteer in a social justice organization somewhere in the world to be a benefit, to broaden experience and to acquire passion. How my perspective would have changed had I been able to do that as a young adult. I cannot change my past but I can help to change the minds and hearts of others. Through working on these projects I had another, possibly more powerful realization.

                                                                 The Poor
The church’s service of the poor rivals that of most social service agencies. In Portland, Oregon, for instance, a homeless person has a choice of over fifty-one free meals per week to choose from. The vast majority of the organizations doing the feeding are Christian organizations. Churches operate the two largest independent food and clothing banks in the Portland area. The homeless of our city can receive legal help, networking help for housing and jobs, bus tickets home for the under aged, resume classes, clothing, gift certificates for the drug store, blankets, coats and sleeping bags as well as fresh baked cookies almost any day of the week just for the asking.

Portland is one of the friendliest cities in the country according to the homeless. They are more likely to get their needs met and less likely to be beat up, robbed or arrested in our fair city. Not only that but the weather is mild and survivable most of the year, and when it is not we have shelters available to get them in out of the below zero weather. The Salvation Army, Catholic Services, Union Gospel Mission and Christian churches or faith based programs run these programs for the most part. A person might say that the poor and the homeless need the church and that would be true. However I have come to believe that the Church needs the poor and the homeless just as much if not more.

                                               How do the Scriptures Treat the Poor?
In the Old Testament we see mention of the widows, the fatherless and sojourners (alien, stranger). These three are considered to be the poor of the Bible. Widows are women who have lost a husband. A widow could be an older woman who outlives her husband and often does not have an adequate means of support once he is gone. A widow could also be a young woman who has lost her husband through illness or a tragic accident. She may also have few resources at her disposal.

In the Book of Ruth we have a great story of two such women, Ruth and Naomi. They lost their husbands presumably because of weak genes that promoted early death in the younger (both sons died at an early age). Famine and lack of family drove them back to Israel. In the story we see how the gleaning law (Deut. 24:19-22) and the levirite marriage laws provided for women who could have perished without such consideration. God gave these laws to Jewish society so that the vulnerable could maintain their dignity within the community and not be forced to shameful means for survival.

In Deuteronomy 10:12-22 Moses is delivering the Ten Commandments to Israel for the second time. He speaks to Israel and reminds them of God’s nature and their call to “fear the Lord your God … serve the Lord your God with all your heart…observe the Lord’s commands.” (v.12-14) Strangely enough, in the middle of Moses’ description of the character of God and Israel’s worship response to Him, verses 18-19 stands in stark contrast. It reads, “He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt.” Did Moses just happen to have a random brain spasm or was this piece God inspired? It seems odd that although the Ten Commandments say nothing of widows, fatherless, or aliens, this command would be mentioned here. Could we possibly be seeing a priority of the heart of God in this command?

Judging by how often these words show up in scripture that would be my assumption. “When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.” (Lev. 19:33-34) We see the writer connecting Israel’s experience in Egypt with the experience of the alien, as in Deuteronomy 10:12. Perhaps this is what the scripture means by “serving the Lord with all your heart.” A heart engaged with the experience of the alien is what leads to compassion on a personal level. God did not want Israel to be hard hearted. He wanted them to be known outside their borders for their acceptance, generosity and love. To Abraham God said, “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” God desired that Israel would be the reflection of his very character so that the world would know of his goodness.

The Minor Prophets are thematic in God’s judgment of Israel for her ill treatment of societies most needy people. Habakkuk lamented that injustice prevailed (Hab. 1:1-4). Zephaniah railed against Jerusalem as the ‘city of oppressors.” In Zachariah 7:9-10 the prophet says, “This is what the Lord Almighty says, ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.’”

Social justice and equality themes echo from the Law in Leviticus down to through the Minor Prophets. These themes were continued in the New Testament. Acts 4:32-35 describes the economic structure of the New Testament Church. All things, including houses and lands, were held in common with all others in the community. The result was that “it was distributed to anyone as he had need” and “there was no needy person among them.” The wealth was redistributed regularly.

The redundancy denotes emphasis and thus importance on caring for all. The initial impetus for electing deacons was the concern of the Greeks that the widows were missing out on the daily distribution of food (Acts 6:1). The implication is that they were unable to defend their need either by words or brute insistence. Once the deacons took the matter in hand the problem was solved. The church rapidly grew as a result of their prompt action of caring for the poor. The fledgling church loved and cared for the weakest of their members. This attitude created a safe and desirable atmosphere, an attractive place for all.

Paul’s concern for the poor is evident when he rebukes the Corinthian Church for disorderly and unkind Communion practices (I Cor. 11:20-22). He suggests that their behavior is hypocritical and cannot be considered The Lord’s Supper when “one remains hungry, another gets drunk... and (you) humiliate those who have nothing.” Paul was not content to father an impotent church. He demanded that they live God honoring lives within their community and that included care for needs both physical and emotional of their weakest members.

                                         The Widows, The Fatherless and The Alien of The Twenty First Century
So how does our example of caring for the needy translate into the culture of the day? Some concepts translate straight across. Poverty is obvious both within and outside of the United States. Bill Clinton in his book Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World says, “About half the world’s people still live on less than $2 a day.” (Pg. 3) You do not have to be an astute observer to see the poor. They are all around us. It just takes someone who is willing to open his or her eyes.

Although we could say that care of widows in our society is important, it does not bear the same weight that it did in biblical times. In biblical times a widow had no options if she did not have family. Therefore her only hope was her faith community. Without them she would perish. Therefore God’s word was clear and to the point. In our culture most widows have retirement, social security or government provisions such as food stamps, disability or welfare. Although it is not always an easy life for them, their plight is not as desperate as the widow in biblical times because most have options.

Biblically speaking, the fatherless are the children of the widows. These are children whose fathers have either abandoned them or perished as a result of an accident or illness. God says He defends their cause. What a loving father He is. We have countless numbers of fatherless children in our culture. Most of these have been abandoned by their fathers. Although in the Bible the fatherless were less likely to be abandoned, this concept translates across the board quite easily.

The alien, or sojourner as it is in the King James Version, is a traveler. This is a person who does not have a home of his own to retreat to at days end. This is a person with a certain amount of vulnerability since he is exists outside of familiar territory and the protection of those who love him. He depends on the kindness of strangers for his wellbeing and safety. Today the typical traveler is capable of taking care of himself. Means of transportation is not as perilous as it was in Bible times. We do not fear the same plight of the traveler in the Good Samaritan Parable. Air, rail, bus and automobile travel is secure and safe, as are hotels and most campgrounds.

                                                          Casting a Wider Net
I would like to cast a wider net concerning travelers, widows and the fatherless, a net that catches the spirit of the scriptures and yet the concerns of the culture of 2007. Can I posit that widows and the fatherless might be single parents and their children or foster children? Could we think about the alien and sojourner as our homeless population?

Most single parents are among the working poor. They are poor in finances, time, energy, and emotion. They are called upon by life to be both mother and father to one or more children. They have little time to develop any resources outside of their employment to meet the personal needs. They are vulnerable to any scheme that will validate them and ease their burdens. The children of single parents suffer the lack of opportunity that comes with poverty. These children rarely get enough parental attention to nurture them and provide the confidence they need to become healthy adults. What about children in foster care? These children have no biological or adoptive parent to offer them continuity throughout their lives. Every child needs a parent who is number one on their team. Who would that be for a foster child? The Christian Church is the only hope for these parents and children. The question is this: Will the Church step up to the plate? Are we going to care for our widows/widowers and fatherless/motherless children?

Sojourner, this word means traveler. Oddly enough, the homeless call themselves Travelers. Why? Because it is far more affirming to say, “I am a traveler” than to say, “I am a homeless loser.” They hitchhike and jump trains to get around, thus they are quite literally travelers. This population is vulnerable to the schemes of whoever wants to use them. They sell their dignity for a hamburger or a safe place to sleep. It is easy to judge this population. The media weaves stories of rebellion and violence around the homeless community. You can certainly find that if it is what you are looking for. But the homeless that I know are just kids who are trying to make life work in the least painful way. Can you imagine a child leaving home because life is mentally, emotionally or physically safer on the streets than it is with the parent? This is the reality that these kids face and it is for this reason that they choose homelessness. They would rather be hungry or cold than molested, raped, beaten or maliciously confined at home. These are our twenty first century sojourners. They live on the streets of every major city in the world.

                The Response of the Church (an excerpt from The Emergent Manifesto of Hope)
“We love the poor in our faith community. Our average income is less than half of the norm for our city. It’s not that we don’t have wealthy or educated individuals in our community, we do. The poor just seem to gravitate to us in greater numbers than the rich and famous. Perhaps it is because we have trained ourselves to see their beauty: indeed, to see the beauty in each individual, rich or poor.

The most current statistics tell us that the concentration of our nation’s wealth has continued to shift upward, with 33.4 percent being held by 1 percent of the population. The top 10 percent of households in our country hold more than 71percent of the wealth. Conversely, this leaves the bottom 40 percent holding less than 1 percent of the nation’s wealth. Wealth, or the ability to hold on to earnings, is the prime indicator of our standard of living. And the gap is ever widening. If these statistics translate across the board, 40 percent of the church in the United States is suffering from poverty. Still, unless Christians are particularly intent on doing otherwise, we will continue to worship with those most like ourselves. I would like to suggest that homogeneity is the curse rather than poverty. Mutual exposure will benefit us all. Why is this so hard for the church? How do we change the church; how do we change us?

Eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear (Is. 6:10): this is how the prophet Isaiah described Israel who could no longer feel the pain of injustice. Could the same indictment hold true in the church today? The poor and the marginalized stand on our street corners, sit in our coffee shops, and attend our churches, but we are not yet trained to see them. The church needs an attitude adjustment and a change in thinking. The poor will always be with us. How amazing is that! We could be welcoming them with open arms, with accepting hearts drawing the mission field through the doors of our churches. The poor and the outcast give us the opportunity to fulfill the mission that Jesus charges us with: visit, feed, heal, and clothe. What a blessing to the body of Christ! Rather than seeing them as a bad report card or a mission failed, we could see them as we are: objects of God’s grace.” This presents to Christianity an opportunity to serve the widows, fatherless and sojourners without spending the money to go to India or Bosnia or the Islands of the Sea.

                                                What We Can Learn From the Poor
In our premarriage classes we ask our couples this question, “What if marriage was not meant to make you happy but it was meant to make you grow?” In other words, have we missed the point of marital union? Shouldn’t growth be the object? Happiness should be a byproduct of growth in marriage, but not the main goal. Could we say the same thing about being a Christian and serving the body of Christ? Have we missed the point of the gospel? Are we in it for our own gratification or for the other? When we serve happiness will likely happen, in fact Jesus says we will find life rather than lose it.

The point is to become something other than what we are which is, by nature, self centered and interested in our own gratification. The point is to become a reflection of God: lovers of the other. When the needy are present among us we have the opportunities to gain wisdom and Christ like character that doesn’t often come in other ways. Too often the needy are treated as beggars without any regard of what they may bring to the table. My homeless friend Justin knows how to pray. Unlike me, he is ever aware of his dependence on God for his daily needs. Each one of us is one tragedy away from that kind of dependence; in fact most of us are 911 Christians. We make the prayer “phone call” when disaster hits. My homeless friend knows how to pray without ceasing no matter what the temperature of life. He is my prayer and trust inspiration.

Gail Wells is a seventy three year old woman who preaches on the street for City Gates Ministries in Olympia, Washington. When she looks into the eyes of the poor the first thought that comes to her mind is, “Oh, there you are, Jesus.” As Gail sits with the homeless and listens to their stories she is deeply humbled. She hears the voice of God and learns the discernment of the Holy Spirit. She comments, “Their stories are common to man and but for the grace of God, there go I.” That deep recognition that we are all made out of the same dirt keeps Gail respectful of those she serves. It forces her into a heart place rather than a head place, and keeps her diligently giving with little consideration of herself. Gail says that she is addicted to loving and caring for “her street family.”

Lucy is a single mom in our community. She has juggled her finances and her earning opportunities so that she could spend as much time with her toddler son as possible not wanting to leave him in daycare. The state pressured her to take a job and leave the nursing baby with caregivers. She trusted God for something better. After nine months God came through with the perfect job. Most of us don’t struggle with the decision between living on nothing, and by nothing I mean 200 dollars per month, and having to leave her child to earn more. Lucy’s quiet faith has pushed the envelope for me and for our congregation. We are challenged to believe God for the hard things. The community has given a lot to Lucy as well, and she acknowledges it. You will find no servant more faithful than one whose life has been saved by Jesus through community.

Ken Loyd, pastor of HomePDX, a church for the homeless who meet under a bridge in downtown Portland, Oregon, says that much of ministry to the poor and homeless is a reach down. Ken says, “These are my friends. You don’t condescend to your friends. They have as much to teach us and maybe more than we have to teach them.” Jesus says, “See that you do not look down on one of these little ones.” (Matthew 18:10) Are these little ones limited to children or could we include any with minimal authority in life. James echoes this same sentiment: “Listen, my dear friends. Isn’t it clear by now that God operates quite differently? He chose the world’s down-and-out as the kingdom’s first citizens, with full rights and privileges.” (James 2:5, The Message Bible) In the upside-down kingdom the least likely have honor. Loyd spends time on the streets with the “sinners and taxcollectors” of our day and loves evey minute of it.

In Red Letters: Living a Faith That Bleeds, Tom Davis agrees with Loyd and Wells when he says, “In some crazy way, Jesus is the poor. When we find the ‘least of these’ we find him. If this doesn’t turn your theology upside down, I don’t know what will. Every person that spends time with the poor, the suffering and the homeless knows this. The fulfiment and satisfaction that comes from being with Jesus is what keeps us.” (23) Luke 4:18-19 records Jesus first public sermon: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me… to preach good news to the poor… to proclaim freedom for the prisoners… recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed. This day the scriptures is fullfilled in your ears.” He comes out of the gates defining his ministry as service to the downtrodden.

In Jesus last sermon before Gethsemane he lectured his disciples about caring for the poor. The hungry, the thirsty, the homeless, the shivering, the sick and in prison are his representatives on earth. “Whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” (Matt 25:41-43) His last word was about caring for the downtrodden. Jesus ministry is bookended with concern for the poor and helpless of society. I would say this message is of primary importance given Jesus’ attention to it.

                                                      The Church Needs The Poor
How do we benefit from the widows, the fatherless and the sojourner? When we weave our lives with our needy neighbors we are engaged on emotional, spiritual and material levels. We are drawn out of our cocoons, our introversion, and our own needy selves. We learn faith lessons. We learn diligence in prayer. We learn to be givers of self and of resources. We become active participants with the Holy Spirit, like a hand in a glove. We learn to hear the voice of God and we see him work. We learn what cannot be learned otherwise.

All in all, we need the poor, the fatherless, the widows, and the homeless because this is how we walk with Jesus. Although Samina was the primary reason that I ended going down this trail of thought, she is merely symbolic of the vast sea of needs that we face at home as well as overseas. I wish that I could paint each Samina that I have met on the streets of Portland and each one that has graced the doorstep of my church. I need to be reminded of those who yearn for a better life. They engage my heart pulling me out of my selfishness and my narcisism.

Die to self. That’s what we are told to do. Could it be that dying to self is not meant to be an exercise in suppressing sinful desires but rather such an overwhelming focus on the needs of others that our own desires and needs pale in comparison and even disappear? Could it be that in the eyes of the Samina, the compelling eyes of Jesus, we find ourselves love smitten and actualized, the incarnation completed? Could it be that simple? All we have to overcome is our fear of losing too much of ourselves.

The kingdom of God is counter intuitive. It is the upside down kingdom: if you want honor then bend low and become humble, if you want to be personally fulfilled then deny yourself, give yourself away. Jesus described the upside down kingdom perfectly: “For whoever wants to save his life must lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” (Matthew 16:25) And then he demonstrated it by spilling his blood to purchase the bride.

My friend Jim Henderson says that we have two choices: to live in beliefism or to live as Christ followers. Beliefism bears no fruit because it bears no expectation of action. It is merely mental ascent. Christ followers are obsessed with following Jesus in word and deed. A Jesus obsessed life is transformational personally and provokes all who look on with seeing eyes. Are we ready to be transformed? Is the church ready to embrace the underprivileged as equals? Are we ready to see the face of Jesus in each one? When we realize the gift of God that is standing at the doorstep we will no longer hang our heads in shame or pretend like we does not see. My prayer is that the Chuuch will wake up from her slumber and embrace a powerful and liberating partnership with the other. And in doing so she will be transformed and she will change the world.

Bibliography:
Giving:How You Can Change the World, William Clinton;
The Emergent Manifesto of Hope. Jones, Tony and Doug Pagitt; Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 2007
Red Letters: Living a Faith That Bleeds. Tom Davis; Alive Communications, Inc. Colorado Springs 2007
The Holy Bible New American Standard Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1988

Word on the Street

The Church Needs the Poor

The Man in the Wheelchair

Welcome to Word on the Street!