Who among us are the Poor?

As a reflection on Luke’s Gospel we find several scripture verses that pinpoint the word poor within a narrative that should get our attention. Looking back at the Old Testament we find that God’s instruction referring to the poor includes; “If one of your kinsmen in any community is in need in the land which the Lord, your God, is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor close your hand to him. When you give to him, give freely and not with ill will; for the Lord, your God, will bless you for this in all your world and undertakings. The needy will never be lacking in the land; that is why I command you to open your hand to your poor and needy kinsmen in your country.” (Dt 15: 7, 10 - 11).

The Gospel of Luke refers to the poor in scripture verses that should catch our attention and see how this writer presents our Lord Jesus as a minister for those who are needy; all of us. From the Canticle of Mary; “He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart. He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones and lifted up the lowly. The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty.” (excerpted from Lk 1: 51 - 53).

In Nazareth as he read from Isaiah; “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” (Lk 4: 18 - 19).

“Go tell John what you have seen and heard; the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news proclaimed to them. And blessed is the one who takes no offense in me.” (Lk 7: 22 -23).

“Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” (Lk 14: 13 - 14).

It is a foregone conclusion that being poor or living in poverty denotes a monetary absence. However, it usually points to a low or complete absence of spirituality where these people have lost all or most of the virtue of hope. We talk about theological virtues as being a crucial point of our understanding of God. And we can agree with that while we accept the promotion of God’s premise of inclusion within each person’s spiritual needs. This is where the ministry of explaining the meaning of the Incarnation and the next 3.5 years of the truth regarding why Christ came to save us.

Proclaiming the presence of poor people places each one of us at the forefront of need in our search for faith which will then bring about the grace of God which is the only truth that will save our soul. The question “Who among us are the Poor?” Anyone who has lost his/her complete connection to the Holy Trinity. Here we must have a turn around by finding the God of the Bible. Then becoming one who stands at the foot of the Cross and believes this was done for me!

Ralph B. Hathaway