Discussion recently got me to wondering…
The discussion revolved around Jesus rebuking the disciples for their rebuke of the kind act of a woman, where the disciples were clearly focused on the waste of the oil used for anointing, and Jesus is said to have made a comment something like, “The poor will be with you always.â€
This may very well be a reference back to the 15th chapter of Deuteronomy. The actual verse comes from the 11th chapter, which reads something like, “There will always be poor people among youâ€, but the context of the preceding instruction in the chapter, as well as the following words, is extremely critical it seems to me. For that reason, here is the text (NIV).
1 At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. 2 This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel the loan he has made to his fellow Israelite. He shall not require payment from his fellow Israelite or brother, because the LORD’s time for canceling debts has been proclaimed. 3 You may require payment from a foreigner, but you must cancel any debt your brother owes you. 4 However, there should be no poor among you, for in the land the LORD your G-d is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you, 5 if only you fully obey the LORD your G-d and are careful to follow all these commands I am giving you today. 6 For the LORD your G-d will bless you as he has promised, and you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations but none will rule over you.
7 If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your G-d is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. 8 Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs. 9 Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: “The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near,” so that you do not show ill will toward your needy brother and give him nothing. He may then appeal to the LORD against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. 10 Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your G-d will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. 11 There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.
If the quote that is attributed to Jesus was truly referencing this passage, then the light that is cast on the issue is brand new. As usual, lack of context is blinding.
The instruction is imbedded within dialogue meant to eliminate poverty – exactly the problem that we said could probably never be cured. Yet, here in the Torah, we are given the formula for eliminating poverty. Within that formula, the assumption appears to be that even as we follow the instruction of G-d, and do out best to eliminate poverty, there will be a constant flow of people into our system who will be poor, and we are commanded to be “openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your landâ€.
To follow this through for a minute, did the authors of Deuteronomy truly believe that it was possible to eliminate poverty? If this was possible, then why would there remain a constant flow of poor? Is it possible that we could read into this the notion that as we follow this command, and share wealth among all the people, then a “rising tide†will indeed continually re-define poverty, constantly raising the bar so that the affluence of humanity will require a constantly revised definition of poverty, (thus a constant flow of the poor)? This is, indeed, what has happened in our world, as most in our country who are considered “poor†might be considered pretty wealthy in many parts of the world.
If this reading of the command was accurate, then our instruction is very clear. As we continue to distribute wealth to the poor, and the tide of affluence rises among all the people, we must continue to raise the bar, not lower it. Progress toward the Kingdom of G-d lies clearly on this path, and breaking this command moves us away.
A discussion of politics within our nation might go well here…
Did Jesus see things like this? If so, then His rebuke makes all the sense in the world. The struggle to eliminate poverty is not a struggle at all, but a blessing – a mitzvoth that we are given. It is one that we can (and should) practice all the days of our lives. He was at that table at that moment, and kindness shown to Him should in no way be taken as a slight to those who were more poor than him. The woman in the story was, indeed, sharing wealth with a poor man at the table, just as everyone at that table should continue to do as a way of moving toward G-d.
Are the poor among us and within our culture a blight to be struggled against, or a blessing for those who are less poor? Perhaps the Beatitudes take on a new meaning?
Neil, Hi!
It's Eric, from "In Search of Solidarity." As promised, I'm perusing your excellent blog. I thought I'd add something of interest to this spot-on sentiment concerning Jesus' teaching and the poor.
This quote comes from "Life's Key Question," a column by Fr. Ron Rolheiser, available here:
We prepare ourselves for death by loving deeply and by expressing love, appreciation, and gratitude to each other. Jesus says as much. When the woman at Bethany poured an entire bottle of expensive ointment on his feet and dried his feet with her hair, he commented on her lavish expression of affection and gratitude by saying: "She has anointed me for my impending death." What he meant should not be piously misinterpreted. He wasn't saying: "Since I'm soon to die, let her waste this ointment!" He was saying rather: "When I come to die, it's going to be easier because, at this moment, I am truly tasting life. It's easier to die when one has been, even for a moment, fully alive."
The story of the anointing of Jesus by the woman of Bethany, as told in John 12, makes it clear that the disciple who complained "… did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it."
So I agree: When Jesus says, "You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me," he isn't minimizing the need to serve the poor or the hope of ever eliminating poverty — not at all.
But what seems to be going on here is, rather, Jesus pointing out that serving the poor cannot be compartmentalized away from "truly tasting life." Rather, to embrace the poor (and, indeed, "sinners" as well; in Jesus' time, the two categories were thought of as one) is part and parcel of a life lived most abundantly.
All the best.
Eric