Tag Archives: Poor

Jesus as Advocate

Kingdom Building

September 28, 2019

Scripture Reading: Luke 16:19-31

‘There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. He called out, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.” But Abraham said, “Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. –Luke 16:19-25

I spent yesterday at a very productive advocacy group planning meeting designed to set our priorities and goals for the upcoming year. There is a lot that needs to be done as we strive to assure the Common Good. We talked about goals for education, criminal justice, health care including mental health care, and the economy. Oklahoma ranks 39th in education. 42nd in crime and corrections, 47th in health care, and 34th in the economy. We have much work ahead of us. As the meeting closed and I surveyed the total results, it dawned on me that all these areas would markedly improve if every working citizen in Oklahoma earned a living wage.

Jesus was an advocate for the poor. His story from Luke emphasizes his concern challenging all his followers to take up that cross and follow him. I constantly see condescending post about people who receive “welfare”, the stereotypical term used to describe the poor in the USA. There is nothing remotely related to the welfare of another person, when we hear this word spit out like it leaves a bad taste in the speaker’s mouth. “Welfare” usually is used to describe persons who receive case benefits to support their families most often assumed to be a young mother with children and an absent father. The program is called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Many of the recipients in Oklahoma are actually relatives caring for the children of all those people we hold in prison, many for non-violent crimes. Nationwide in FY-2017 there were 3.1 million people who received TANF Payments for a total percent of population of .9%. Of that number 2.3 million were children.  In Oklahoma in March 2019 there were a total of 5,981 people receiving TANF or .2%* of the state’s population. The poor are primarily working families who do not make a living wage.

The time has come for all Christ followers to prayerfully consider seeking solutions to the poverty in our land. Children 6 to 11 Years Old in Oklahoma have a Poverty Rate of 23.1%. Adolescents 12 to 17 Years Old in Oklahoma have a Poverty Rate of 19.0%. Adults 18 to 59 Years Old in Oklahoma have a Poverty Rate of 15.9%. Adults 60 to 74 Years Old in Oklahoma have a Poverty Rate of 9.4%**.

Prayer: Lord, open our hearts and minds to become advocates for the poor. Amen.          

*https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ofa/resource/tanf-caseload-data-2019

**https://www.welfareinfo.org/poverty-rate/oklahoma/ All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Ignoring the Obvious

i-was-hungryAdvent
November 30, 2016

Scripture Reading: Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19

Give the king your justice, O God,
   and your righteousness to a king’s son.
May he judge your people with righteousness,
   and your poor with justice.
May the mountains yield prosperity for the people,
   and the hills, in righteousness.
May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
   give deliverance to the needy,
   and crush the oppressor. –Psalm 72:1-4

This Psalm, written perhaps to celebrate Solomon’s ascension to the throne of Israel, outlines some ideas about God’s justice. Ideas we still work to emulate today. It seems strange to me that people of faith can get so highly exercised about many issues that are rarely if ever mentioned in the Bible, but often scorn the poor when we are repeatedly challenged from Genesis through Revelation to assure the wellbeing of the poor. I experience the same conundrum about welcoming the stranger. I wonder why we who claim to follow Christ ignore his major teachings even work against them.

Perhaps we react so adversely because for most of us, even upper middle class and wealthy people, we are just one major illness, one accident, one job loss, a bad recession, or worse a depression away from being poor. We choose to ignore that which we cannot control and thus we blame the people who end up poor, for whatever reason, for their situation. We do not want to see ourselves in their plight.

Jesus modeled a different approach. He foresaw a world where everyone shared equally in assuring the well-being of all others. He lived and breathed justice for all. Do we?

Take time this week to see the poor. If you feel you are poor, what do you need what do you want to change your way of being? Are you willing to make the necessary changes in your life? If you count yourself among those, who have enough, what part are you playing in making that a reality for everyone?

Prayer: Lord, Let your voice speak to our hearts, unclog our ears so that we hear what you are saying to us. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

Grace in Justice

Rich And PoorLiving in the Spirit
September 3, 2015

Scripture Reading: James 2:1-17

My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, ‘Have a seat here, please’, while to the one who is poor you say, ‘Stand there’, or, ‘Sit at my feet’, have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you? –James 2:1-7

There is probably no greater evidence of injustice in the world than in our judicial system within the United States. If you can afford the best attorney, you can most likely win your case or get a lighter sentence. If people cannot afford an attorney, even if they are not guilty they may be encouraged to plead guilty to get a lesser sentence.  If a person has the good fortune of having a family who can afford to pay for psychiatric care at the onset of an illness, he or she will be able to prove he or she was mentally ill before the crime and thus meet the constitutional criteria that says we do not execute the mentally ill. If the person is diagnosed after sentencing he or she will most likely be executed even though evidence of mental illness was present for much of his or her life.

We are called to not see class differences but it is really hard to do in a society that projects more worth on wealth than on personhood. I do not think the problem is so much being gracious to the upper class. The problem is ignoring or even stepping over the poor to cast your lot with the people whose prosperity equals power.

We need to show God’s grace in our lives to everyone. The rich can be as spiritually poor as anyone. The poor in worldly acquisitions may be rich in spiritual gifts. They are all welcomed as part of the Body of Christ.

Prayer: Lord, expand our ability to love to see your reflection in each person we encounter so that we no longer are driven to be concerned about material worth. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.