Why Do You Think the Poor Are So Important to Jesus?

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DoughnutGuy

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I never really thought about this before, because it is something so basic. However, it has occurred to me to ask why the poor loom so large in the teachings of Our Lord. After all, He died for the sins of everyone, rich or poor. Now, I am not for a moment suggesting that we ought not to be charitable towards the poor. I am just wondering where the poor fit into the grand scheme of things. I would be interested to see any thoughts.
 
He is love. Love loves all, not just those with fine clothes. 2,000 years ago, the poor suffered more and differently than today. They were considered to be accursed by God and thus were (normally) excluded from Synagogue. They were reduced to begging and rummaging through harvested fields looking for some stubble or morsels of grain to eat. Yet, they were also made in the image and likeness of God. The test was on them, but even more so on the wealthy who did not feed or clothe them.

BUT! obedience to our Lord always comes before taking care of anyone else - rich or poor.

 
Indeed. The necessity of serving God first, as demonstrated in the story of the woman who poured perfume over Our Lord’s head, is what got me thinking. I am playing devil’s advocate here, but as long as we worship and obey God, does it really matter if we are charitable to the poor? I suppose the answer is that Our Lord commands us to be charitable to the poor, so being charitable is one way of worshipping and obeying God.
 
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po18guy said:
BUT! obedience to our Lord always comes before taking care of anyone else - rich or poor.
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There isn’t really a hierarchy of obligation in the way you put it here.

Proverbs 14 31 Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker,
but those who are kind to the needy honor him.
 
I think it is largely because they don’t have the resources that the more well-to-do folks have. I’m not necessarily speaking about money either. There are the poor in spirit who don’t have the resources to grow spiritually. There are oppressed people who are poor in hope, lacking a better vision for the future. Etc.
 
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Read the Beatitudes and think about the definition of the word “poor”. We are so materialistic, that the word simply means lack of money. Spiritual poverty, alienation, isolation, illness, etc. and so forth apply to all people regardless of how much money they have.
If you don’t have a “poor” neighbor with whom to share your bounty, then perhaps you are one of the poor.
 
He identifies with the poor. “Whatsoever you do for the least, you do for me”. It is about solidarity not we/them. That is so hard for us to hear. We are all about keeping “them” out and protecting “us”.
 
There are many possible ways to view Christ’s love of the poor.

In addition to those that have all been mentioned, it’s possible Jesus was an Essene, and the Essene’s were said to be extremely self-reliant. But - even if the Essene argument was cast aside - then Jesus was God, and God defers to no man, and he does whatever He wills. For Jesus to have succumbed to money would have been to sell out, which was what Judas did for him. It very well could have just been that Jesus didnt want the baser things of this world, but He wanted to be free, and he was impressed by those who could think independently.

Another thought is, in John He says, “I was sent”, and “I can only do the works that my Father gives me to do”, and “I seek his will”. He wasn’t worried about “rendering unto Ceasar”; Jesus was more concerned with “rendering unto God”.

Another thought is - and He didnt want “to lose anything His Father had given Him”… and yet - He wanted to share God’s providence at the same time… To NOT teach the poor would seem to be an omission of something his Father wanted Him to do because the Pharisees would have misled and exploited those people… thus, He would have lost them…

Jesus likely also saw poverty as the way to perfection… for the rich young man was encouraged to be perfect by following him, even though he couldnt do it, like the apostles would eventually have come to do…

The list goes on and on…

St Francis of Assisi once said, “if you want to learn how to pray, sit in the company of the poor, for they know how to pray…”

There’s also more poor than there are rich people, so… where can one accomplish the greater good?

Yet sometimes I think Jesus was lead out into the desert just to clear his mind - to live amongst the wild beasts as a way of returning to a natural order… so angels could minister to Him… and, as for the devil, it was a convenient place to tell him to buzz off… There’s really no way satan (the creature) could have been above and really wealthier than God his Creator… Jesus knew this, and He probably wanted to go out to into the wild desert to get rid of the devil and return to His Father…
 
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There was a bit from the Cure d’Ars I was reading the other day—
Prudence shows us what is most pleasing to God, and most useful to the salvation of our soul. We must always choose the most perfect. Two good works present themselves to be done, one in favor of a person we love, the other in favor of a person who has done us some harm; well, we must give the preference to the latter. There is no merit in doing good, when a natural feeling leads us to do it. A lady, wishing to have a widow to live with her to take care of, asked St. Athanasius to find her one among the poor. Afterwards, meeting the Bishop, she reproached him that he had treated her ill, because this person was too good, and gave her nothing to do by which she could gain Heaven; and she begged him to give her another. The saint chose the worst he could find; of a cross, grumbling temper, never satisfied with what was done for her. This is the way we must act, for there is no great merit in doing good to the one who values it, who thanks us and is grateful.

There are some persons who think they are never treated well enough; they seem as if they had a right to everything. They are never pleased with what is done for them: they repay everybody with ingratitude… Well! Those are the people to whom we should do good by preference. We must be prudent in all our actions, and seek not our own taste, but what is most pleasing to the good God.

Suppose you have a franc that you intend to give for a Mass; you see a poor family in distress, in want of bread: it is better to give your money to these wretched people, because the Holy Sacrifice will still be offered; the priest will not fail to say Holy Mass; while these poor people may die of hunger… You would wish to pray to the good God, to pass your whole day in the church; but you think it would be very useful to work for some poor people that you know, who are in great need; that is much more pleasing to God than your day passed before the holy tabernacle.
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So, I just thought it was interesting, because generally, we focus on the “meritorious poor”— helping out the people who are in dire need through no fault of their own. But it was that thought, in conjunction with something else-- there had been a talk at our church by Sondra Abrahams, who had given money to a homeless guy, and then worried that he would waste it on drugs or alcohol or whatever. And then the point was made— her charity was between herself and God, and whether he made use of it or abused it was between himself and God. All she could do was focus on doing her good works, without worrying as to how others used or misused her generosity.

Which is very contrary to our instincts! 🙂
 
Hi, @DoughnutGuy
I had a vision for a “Church for the Poor” meaning that
the Church universal should VALUE the Poor in their
Parish, seeing that “God has chosen the Poor to be
Rich in Faith” James 2:5 Also, the Church has been
the Leader in helping the poor, educating, feeding and
employing the Poor. St. Lawrence was martyred for
labeling the Poor as the “treasure of the Church”.
 
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Because they are most likely to be humble and have faith in him. Of course this is not always the case. But in most cases the less you have the more you need to rely on God for all your needs and the more faith you will need to have in him to provide for you. If you have money and great possessions then you are tempted to think you have everything and less likely to remember who gave you those things and more likely to think you don’t need anything from anyone, even God (though you may not think it in that way but you may become arrogant and think you have all you need). The poor often truly know the value of a piece of bread, or an article of clothing or blanket and so, are often more likely to share and be grateful for it.
 
We also need to protect and give dignity to the poor
in our city, seeing the human person in “made in God’s
image” and deserve to be treated as such. Much of
the resentment and clamoring by the Poor ppl. is b/c
they do not feel respected and worthy of the social
assistance and alms that they were doled, and this
impacts the Church, too as a result.
 
Good to know, because I"m taking a break from charity. Better to focus on ME.
 
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Just saw this. We are not under the old covenant. Did you not read the Monsignor’s writing? What he is addressing is the well-intended but misdirected “social justice Gospel”

Even Aquinas wrote to the effect that it is useless to comfort those on the road to hell. The Gospel should define us. And, yes there certainly is a hierarchy - who would/should we help first: a bleeding assault victim or a child’s scraped knee? Someone starving to death in Africa, or the guy at the off-ramp?
 
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