You Always have the Poor with You

The Gospel from the Lectionary for next Sunday (March 13, Fifth Sunday in Lent) is the anointing of Jesus in Bethany from John 12:1-8.Verse 8 is all too often misused as an excuse for not being more generous and compassionate with poor folk. Matthew 26 and Mark 14 record an anointing in the Bethany home of Simon the leper by an unnamed woman, while John records an anointing by Mary in the home of Martha, Mary and Lazarus. Sorting out the differences in these Gospel accounts is beside the point here, but Mark 14 includes an additional telling comment in Jesus’ words that point to the source in Deuteronomy 15.

“You always have the poor with you, and you can show kindness to them whenever you wish; but you will not always have me.” (Mark 14:7)

“There will, however, be no one in need among you, because the Lord is sure to bless you. … Give liberally and be ungrudging when you do so, for on this account the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, ‘Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land.’” (Deuteronomy 15:4,10-11)

I am intrigued that Deuteronomy 15:4 says there will “be no one in need among you,” and verse 11 says “there will never cease to be some in need.” This seeming contradiction reminds us that God expects us to continually care for the poor. If we do, there is no reason for desperate poverty among us, but we can’t become complacent with isolated efforts but must constantly be engaged.

Mark 14:7 confirms this same expectation in the words of Jesus. This one act of extravagant love expressed in anointing Jesus does not preclude ongoing care for the poor. Jesus’ ministry was consistently supportive of poor folk and this line confirms that Jesus knew that was the intent of the instructions in Deuteronomy that he referenced in response to the objection to the anointing. He was certainly not saying that his death marked some kind of boundary after which caring for the poor was no longer mandated. That “there will never cease to be some in need” is intended to be an incentive for generosity toward the poor, not an inhibition, so that “be no one in need among you.”

In our time much political debate has revolved around how much government should be involved in caring for the poor and how much should come from the private sector with voluntary contributions and work. I have had considerable involvement with the Salvation Army and generally concur with their slogan “doing the most good.” However, I also know social workers in government agencies who engage beneficially for many people despite impossibly large caseloads. Having said that, my experience with churches in different parts of the county is clear that few congregations are equipped or competent to address the magnitude of the issues facing poor people in their communities. Even when they work well together, to be effective they must interface with both public and private agencies.

I believe the private vs. public, government vs. volunteer debate is a false dichotomy. At the very least, to have any credibility at all, anyone who suggests reducing government involvement with caring for the poor must be personally involved in and financially contributing generously to private efforts on behalf of poor folk. This is most emphatically true for those who claim faith in Christ.

Deuteronomy 15 is probably the single most concise summary of God’s expectations for caring for the poor. It brings together both personal voluntary generosity with systemic social structures that insure justice and opportunity for those who are struggling. Extrapolating from ancient Israel’ theocratic society to 21^st century democracy is tricky at best, I would suggest that government does have a legitimate, even biblical, mandate to foster justice and compassion for the poor. Psalm 72 puts this squarely in the responsibility of the king, thus of government. Of course, how it is done will vary, but I believe the principle applies.