You always have the poor with you

By Tyler Tankersley

In the Gospel of Matthew, there is a story in which a woman comes to Jesus and anoints his feet with precious, expensive oil. Some of Jesus' disciples scoff at this act and see it as a waste of resources.

They say to Jesus, "Why this waste? For this ointment could have been sold for a large sum, and the money given to the poor." The disciples bring up a good point. I am fairly sure I would have at least thought something similar. But Jesus rebukes them for their scoffing and then says to them, "For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me" (Matthew 26:6-12; see also Mark 14:3-9 and John 12:1-8).

You always have the poor with you. Sometimes when people quote this verse, they are arguing against the idea of the Gospel being tied up with social justice. These people feel that since we will always have poverty around us, the people of the church should not be concerned with matters of societal wrongs, but should instead focus on spiritual matters. Some people feel like preachers ought to just stick with preaching about God, Jesus, heaven, hell and other such spiritual subjects. They believe preachers ought not to ever speak about things such as money, policy or economics. They want their Bibles and their wallets kept as far apart as possible.

However, the Gospel knows no such separation. The Gospel will not allow itself to be compartmentalized apart from our economics or our politics. In fact, I think Jesus' saying that we will "always have the poor with" us is oft misunderstood. Jesus never speaks without purpose or meaning. In his new book "Money and Possessions," Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann argues that Jesus is actually referring to Deuteronomy 15:11 when he says this, which reads, "Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, 'Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land.'" This verse from Deuteronomy is set in the midst of God's giving instructions for the people on when they should forgive debt from within their community.

Jesus is not telling the disciples to be unconcerned about the poor; he is calling them to an even more aggressive concern for a just and neighborly economy. As Brueggemann says, "It is remarkable indeed that in this dramatic moment Jesus should allude to this most radical text. It is as though his detractors have charity in mind and he summons them to a much more radical action: debt cancellation!" (197).

The problems related to poverty, hunger and debt are so overwhelming. It truly does feel like we will always have the poor with us. But the challenge for people of faith is not to simply acknowledge the presence of the poor and move on. The challenge for people of faith is to recognize the impoverished and marginalized in our own community and then ask ourselves, "What are we going to do about this?"