Perspective: Christmas Is for the Poor

I share these thoughts hoping they are of help to someone else.

Comments are always welcomed.

Christmas Is for the Poor

Don't be afraid!  Listen!  I bring good news, news of great joy, news that will affect all people everywhere.  Today, in the city of David, a Liberator has been born for you!  He is the promised Anointed One, the Supreme Authority!  You will know you have found Him when you see a baby, wrapped in a blanket, lying in a feeding trough.

Luke 2:10-12 (The Voice)

And now let the weak say, "I am strong"

Let the poor say, "I am rich

Because of what the Lord has done for us"

From "Give Thanks" by Henry Smith

If you have been reading my blog for the past few years, you have probably noticed that when I tell the Christmas story, I prefer to tell it as unromantic and undignified as possible.  I simply think that the typical nativity scene - consisting of a glowing infant, a prayerful and pious Mary and Joseph, some perfectly groomed shepherds, and some well behaved animals - simply doesn't do the story justice.

The Christmas story is a story about a child who was conceived under suspicious circumstances, a child whose teenage parents ended up delivering Him in a barn because they had nowhere else to go.  Though Mary and Joseph knew that Jesus' entry into this world was miraculous, anyone else would have considered them a couple of foolish young people who made a holy mess out of their lives - pun intended.¹

Lest you think I am simply trying to defame the Christmas story, the very inauspicious way in which the Son of God came into the world makes a powerful statement about God's love.  According to one author, "The very first statement Jesus ever voiced about His concern for the poor, oppressed, marginalized people was when he cried out as one of them - eyes shut tight, mouth open wide, wailing, kicking...  It was one of the most profound acts of solidarity with the poor He could make."²  Jesus was born in a stable as a poor child, to earthly parents whom most onlookers would consider to have poor judgment.

When Jesus grew up and began His ministry, He demonstrated a great concern for the poor.  He challenged those with wealth to share with those who were in need.  Jesus even said that whenever a person feeds someone who is hungry, gives water to someone who is thirsty, welcomes someone who is far from home, gives clothing to the destitute, nurses someone who is sick, or visits someone who is incarcerated, it is just as if he or she had done it for Jesus Himself.³  Jesus personally identified with the poor.

Of course, the materially poor were not the only poor people about whom Jesus was concerned.  Jesus once said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."⁴  The "poor in spirit" are sometimes understood to be the hopeless or the humble,⁵ but I wonder if the "poor in spirit" might also include the spiritually poor or, as some might say, morally bankrupt.  Jesus sat down for dinner with thieving tax collectors who were considered traitors to their own people.  He freely associated with women who had bad reputations.  He even invited a tax collector and a terrorist to join his closest followers.⁶

Jesus used some harsh words on occasion, but they weren't directed toward the tax collectors or prostitutes - those we would consider morally bankrupt.  Tripp Fuller of Homebrewed Christianity recently pointed out that the only people Jesus really seemed to condemn were religious bigots and rich people who didn't help others.⁷  I wonder of Jesus reserved his harshest critique for people who forgot that they were poor.

We value independence and self-reliance in our society, but it is important to remember that we are all completely dependent on God for all our needs.  All good things, including basic necessities, ultimately come from God.  Even if you have earned everything you own by the sweat of your brow, remember that God gave you your ability to sweat.  Not only are we dependent on God's provision, we are also dependent on God's grace.  We all "fall short," "miss the mark," and screw up on a daily basis, and God continually forgives us and befriends us.

I once heard Rob Bell say that in the Church we are all like beggars who found some bread and that, when we share our faith with others, it is as if we are showing other beggars where to find that bread for themselves.

Christmas is for the poor,

and we are all poor.

All we have comes from God, so we must be willing to share what we have in excess with those who do not have enough.  Over the last few weeks, as I have been trying to get the people around me to remember the poor during the Christmas season, I was reminded twice that, though it is good to remember the needy at Christmas, we must not forget those in need during the rest of the year.  Though the Christmas season occurs at the end of the annual calendar, it occurs at the beginning of the Church calendar,⁸ so the good deeds we do at Christmas should set the tone for what we do during the rest of the year.

As you celebrate Christmas with your family and friends, may you not forget those in need - those in need of food and shelter, and those in need of grace.  Also, may you not forget everything that God has done for you.

Merry Christmas!


Notes:

1. To read my own personal telling of the Christmas story, see my perspective "The Christmas Scandal."
2. Scott A. Bessenecker.  The New Friars: The Emerging Movement Serving the World's Poor.  2006, InterVarsity.  pp. 59-60
   Quoted in Advent Conspiracy.  2009, Zondervan.  pp 86-87
3. Matthew 25:34-36
4. Matthew 5:3 (NRSV)
5. See Matthew 5:3 in the Amplified Bible, the Message, and the Common English Bible.
6. Two of Jesus' disciples were Simon the Zealot and Matthew the Tax Collector.  See Matthew 10:1-4.
7. Tripp Fuller and Daniel Kirk.  "Kirk Have I Loved But Tripp?"  Homebrewed Christianity Podcast.  09/26/2013.
8. For a brief lesson on the Church Calendar, see my sermon "Not of This World."

The photograph featured in this perspective is public domain.