Perhaps Christianity’s most radical tenant (besides the Creator of the Universe became one of us for the sake of loving us and making us like Him) is the focus on aiding and elevating those who are poor. At the time of Jesus, this was a radical notion for the common gentile society, especially the Roman Empire. And while God had told the Jews for centuries to care for the poor and widows, they famously would often neglect the poor to the point of losing their homeland promised to them by God. While we as Christians have internalized the teaching of being merciful to the poor, we can often fall into the same trap that our Jewish brothers and sisters fell into centuries ago and not see them as a path to holiness.
St. Vincent de Paul tells us: Since God surely loves the poor, he also loves those who love the poor. In fact, he states that Since Christ willed to be born poor, he chose for himself disciples who were poor. He made himself the servant of the poor and shared their poverty. He went so far as to say that he would consider every deed which either helps or harms the poor as done for or against himself. In the Gospels, it is very clear that Jesus has no means of monetary wealth and neither do his followers. Luke tells us that they depended on women to provide for their ministry. So the God of the universe clearly identifies Himself with the poor and how we treat the poor is essentially how we treat God.
So then what does it mean to serve the poor? There are various ways in which people can be poor, but the most obvious (and easiest to ignore) are those who are physically poor. Nearly everyone encounters a homeless person at least once a year whether we live in an urban area, are traveling, or on vacation. More often than not, when we see these men and women, we rationalize why we should not give to them. Accusing them of probably using our money irresponsibly or using our ‘busy-ness’ as an excuse not to stop, we shove down any feelings of guilt in order to forget about the sad state of those in need and preoccupy ourselves with frivolous worries and events. Yet, Jesus is clear: We need to aid these people regardless of our judgments of them. And as Dorthy Day points out There are two things you should know about the poor: they tend to smell, and they are ungrateful. We must provide for the physical needs of the poor because Jesus aligns himself with them regardless of how we feel about them.
But there are also the spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually poor. And we must also not look over these needs either. Whether it be sacrificing our own time regularly to spend with the lonely aged, or instructing/admonishing a friend who is persistent in their sin, we have to be comfortable with sharing the things that we have a wealth of (in these examples time or Truth) and give it to the person for the purpose of their good. We must be able to pray with someone, rather than just for someone, and we should be willing to be late to our ‘important’ schedules to sit with someone in emotional need even if this action will incur judgment from peers.
What I am not saying: Neglect your duties to your family and job for the sake of the poor. But I do think we can be more brutally honest with ourselves when it comes to the plethora of excuses we have to avoid giving of ourselves whether that be physically or emotionally. More often than not, we can help others, we just do not want to and convince ourselves otherwise. The Romans knew Christians by their love in the early centuries. It is about time that we reclaim that title of undeniable radical lovers.
In our service, we must be mindful to not treat kindness to the poor like a task to be completed. They are not a box to be checked. Rather, they are a person to be encountered. So whenever we give money or food to the homeless, we should ask their name and have a conversation with them. Then maybe they can tell you what they really need, other than what we think they need. Treating them like a human person who deserves to be loved should be the goal of every interaction with the poor. St. Teresa of Calcutta taught this, and we can rejuvenate our neighborhoods like she did in her neighborhood for centuries.
So whether you decide to always have cash on you for when you encounter the homeless, earmark a time in your day or week to visit your elderly neighbors, or you become bold in lovingly proclaiming the Truth, remember that the physical things you do are for the purpose of being Jesus to that person and encountering Jesus in that person. True love stems from doing what is best for the other person, and sometimes that means humbly listening to what is needed. The poor are not a means to an end. They are the end. They are Christ, and to treat them as such is to further the Kingdom of Heaven.
