You will always have the poor among you...

"You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me" John 12:8

This verse has puzzled me for a long time. Jesus makes this statement after Mary anoints his head and feet with oil. Judas responds incredulously "Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages." 12:5.

I have heard this conversation discussed a few times, sometimes the conclusion some come to is this: "the poor will always be with us, poverty is part of society. We should focus primarily on the spiritual, not the social. God obviously cares for the poor, but our job is to share the good news of spiritual rebirth, let's not get distracted by focusing on the social needs of the poor, because that will always be with us."

I discovered something today. Jesus was summarizing scripture. The passage he reference came from Deuteronomy 15. That section describes the year of canceled debts: Every seven years, all debts were to be abolished, and land given back to the original owners, all slaves released...God made provision in his law for an equitable society. There was only one problem. Israel never followed it. They never once made it seven years, or to the year of Jubilee which happened every 50 years (definitely something to study if you are interested). That is one of the reasons that God was so upset with them, read Isaiah 58 for an example.

Here is a link to the passage Jesus quoted, Deuteronomy 15:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=5&chapter=15&version=31

The last verse from that passage: "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." Deuteronomy 15:11

Is it possible that this is what Jesus meant: "The poor you will always have with you, you will always, always be working for there welfare, for that is my heart. Mary has done the right thing because of the special circumstance, I am going to die, but remember that your job is not just the spiritual needs of the lost but also their physical needs as well."

What do you think? Have you ever thought of this passage this way? Do you have examples where you have seen a passage completely different in light of what God is teaching you?

Psst...Neighboring...Pass it on.

Jesus greatest commandment was to Love God and Love our Neighbor. So here is the pivotal question, “who are our neighbors?”, The second question, "What do they teach us?"

Leroy: Gentleman in his late 50's who sells pre-payed legal insurance. During his first interaction with us he said, "As long as I'm here, I'm going to make this block look good!"
(Neighborhood Pride)

Tareania: A young girl that Ashley worked with at camp, who joins us in our walk when we pass her house. "You’re married now, let me see your ring! I can't wait for mine"
(Hope)

D.J: A 19 year old high school dropout who is one of the most sensitive and perceptive persons that I know. The last thing she said to me, "I hate asking people to help me, I don't want to feel like I'm poor, I know I am, but I’m not staying that way"
(Dignity)

Charlene: A great grandmother who is single-handedly raised three generations. and who said to me on Sunday "you're one of my favorite sons"
(Love)

Patricia: a mother of four young boys, a dedicated worker, a diagnosed with HIV fighter, who swallowed her pride this week to ask, "Can I barrow your mop, I'll buy you a new one as soon as I can..."
(Persistence)

Antwon: A young six year old boy who said last week, "I know what color you are, White!"
(Innocence)

Jesus commands us to love our neighbors. Sometimes that is more for our own good then theirs.

Who are your neighbors? What do you learn from them?

Life, Libery, and the Pursuit....The American Dream

Recently I saw a Cadillac car commercial that was a stimulous for alot of thought for me.

Cadillac's motto is "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit..." They portray owning a Cadillac as achieving the "American Dream". Here is the text from a recent commercial entitle "Comfortable"

Man Speaking while driving: “So let me get this straight…I have a comfortable house in the suburbs… comfortable job, with a comfortable office right on the glass…and what? I’m supposed to squeeze myself into an uncomfortable little car on my way back and forth to my comfortable life??!!…I think not!!”
To see the commercial click here: http://www.cadillac.com/cadillacjsp/footer/downloads.jsp


Can our faith and our relationship with God be influenced by our culture?

Comfort and Security (emotional, physical, economical etc) ...definitely values of the American Dream

Here's my question:
Are comfort and security values of Christ and His Dream (His Kingdom)?

I know that I want comfort, I want security...even living where I live, and doing what I do, it's still something that I desire....

Here's a few verses for thought:

Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." Mark 10:21

Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Luke 18:25

"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise." Luke 10:36-27

"Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life[c] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Mark 8:34-36

Jesus didn't live a comfortable life, in fact he warned us that we wouldn't either. If we read these verses literally as well as figuratively there are some strong questions to be answered

Does God care where we live?

When Christians talk about good schools for their kids, safe neighborhoods for their families, and financial security...is that a result of their desire to be Christians (little Christ's) or is it the desire to be American Christians?

P.S. I know these are tough questions, please don't take offense. I don't have them figured out either?

A teachable moment...

Every day I pick up kids to bring to our after-school tutoring program. Sometimes the 10 minutes I have them in the van provide some great teachable moments. Today, Karl a 6 year old, told me that he was going to throw a candy wrapper out of the window.



I said "no your not"
He said "Why Not?"



"Well, two reasons. One, Its illegal and I don't want to get a ticket. Two, why would you want to make your neighborhood look bad?



He responded "One, I don't want to get you a ticket, but Two, the neighborhood looks worser already"



This led into a conversation about whether it was ok to contribute to an already trash filled neighborhood. "What would happen if eveyone threw their trash away in trash cans..."



Isn't it interesting what a child of 6 notices about his/her neighborhood (clean or dirty, whether its "bad" or "good", rich or poor) They are incredibly perceptive at that that age.



How do you think it affects them?


It's amazing how many teachable moments happen in a day?
Do you have any examples of teachable moments you see?

Jesus the Oddball

Recently one of my high-schoolers described Jesus as an "Oddball" so different from the world.

Here are a few statements that really are strange and revolutionary

• "Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!" Jn 2:16
• "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days." Jn 2:18
• "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again" Jn 3:3
• "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." Jn 4:4
• "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. Jn 5:23
• "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. Jn 6:35
• "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as^[c] the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." Jn 7:38
  
• "But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger." Jn 8:6
• "Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes." Jn 9:6
• "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. "Jn 10:1

That's as far as we've gotten in our study of John. But a brief read of these statements really brings out one truth. Jesus is an oddball, he was counter-cultural, counter-religious, conter-socioeconomical. My question for us is this:

Are we as followers of Christ oddballs? In what way? How can the we follow Jesus in His radical way of being completely different from this world?