Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“They asked only one thing, that we remember the poor, which was actually what I was eager to do.”
NL Daily Devotion for Wednesday, May 12, 2021
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Paul and the other apostles in Jerusalem disagreed on a lot of things. But only ONE thing was a non-negotiable. Remember the poor. How much more plain could the early Christians be? There was no love lost between Peter and Paul, much controversy about whether Jesus’ gospel was for the Jews or Gentiles, and all the normal pains of a new and rapidly growing movement. Yet there was one thing upon which everyone could unequivocally agree. Take care of those without money and power.
Modern (western) Christians want to argue about this. Some of us want to claim that this is up to the individual in acts of charity, or the role of the church institution, but should not be the role of government. Other Christians (myself included) believe our faith calls us to insist the government care for those who struggle and, more importantly, change systems to make it so that poverty doesn’t happen in the first place, because we have seen in the past two millennia the utter failure of individual Christians and the church to fulfill this basic call. So the truth remains a couple thousand years after Peter and Paul—Christians can’t agree on everything. But could we at least come together on their one non-negotiable?
What does my own faith tell me about how to “remember the poor?”
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