The Poor Have Names

 

“When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why they are poor, they call me a communist.” —Hélder Câmara

In Matthew 25, Jesus clearly outlines what it looks like to be his follower.  

He doesn't pull any punches.  

Jesus tells this parable as a way to illustrate: 

34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.’

Today, as we ask what Jesus would do when it comes to poverty, we have his teaching as a guide.  On the surface, it seems pretty simple. 

It isn't.  

Poverty quickly becomes political.

Whose responsibility is it?

Government?

Churches?

Charities?

Individuals?

Why are people poor?

What programs work?

Which ones don't?

Those are legitimate questions.

But Jesus begins somewhere else.

He begins with people.

Jesus spends much of his ministry among people with little social or economic power. He feeds hungry crowds. He touches beggars. He notices widows. He heals people who cannot repay him. He announces “good news to the poor.”

Before he taught his disciples about their mission in Matthew 25, Jesus showed them by example. 

Jesus refuses to make poverty invisible.

Perhaps we should too.

One danger of debating poverty is that people disappear behind our theories.

“The poor” become a category.

Jesus, on the other hand, encounters individuals.

A blind man named Bartimaeus.

A widow placing two coins in the treasury.

Lepers cast out of society. 

A paralyzed man, longing for healing with no one to help. 

A hungry crowd that has been following him all day.

Jesus notices.

And then Jesus asks his followers to notice too.

In Matthew 25, he makes the connection startlingly personal:

“I was hungry, and you gave me food.”

What would Jesus do about poverty?

Jesus would feed people.

Jesus would restore dignity.

Jesus would challenge systems and leaders that exploited vulnerable people.

Jesus would also challenge individuals whose abundance had made them indifferent to their neighbors.

That means Christians don't have to choose between personal compassion and concern about larger systems.

We can ask both questions:

How can I help this person?

And:

Why is this person hurting in the first place?

Maybe that is Jesus' third way.

Don't turn poverty into an ideological argument.

Don't reduce people to stereotypes about why they are poor.

Get close enough to learn someone's name.

Listen to their story.

Meet the immediate need you can meet.

Then have the courage to ask why the need exists.

Because Jesus never saw “the poor.”

Jesus saw people.

And once we see people, it becomes much harder to look away.

(Scripture: Luke 4:16–21; Matthew 25:34–40)

Prayer

Jesus, open my eyes to people struggling around me. Forgive me when I judge what I do not understand. Give me generous hands, a compassionate heart, and the courage to ask difficult questions about why people suffer. Teach me to see every person with dignity. Amen.

Reflection Questions

1. What assumptions do I make about people experiencing poverty?
2. Am I more comfortable discussing poverty than actually knowing people who experience it?
3. How can I combine immediate compassion with concern about the causes of suffering?