While many questions could have been asked, it is interesting to note the one that was asked, and by whom. As John penned his gospel, not only was he the last apostle, but he was now an old man, perhaps some 80 or 90 years of age. And that lone question came back with a clarity as though it had been yesterday: Why was not this ointment sold for 300 pence, and given to the poor? With a little contempt and indignation, John thought, “Judas never cared for the poor.” It was Judas Iscariot who would betray Jesus, and it was he who had asked the question, but he had asked it as a thief, seeking only an occasion to embezzle group money to enrich himself.
With this as our backdrop, let us begin by asking our own question, “Does Jesus care for the poor?” This is an important question in our day because organized religion has come to the conclusion that since Jesus cared for the poor, then it is our collective, even Christian, duty to stamp out poverty. Yet while it is obvious that Jesus cared for the poor, how did he do this? If you look at scripture, what you will find is that he cared for them “personally.” He fed the 5,000 and 4,000 personally, without the aid of either the Roman or Jewish governments. He walked among them, personally, having no place to lay his head. In his birth he was born “personally” poor to a poor family, birthed in a stable and laid in a feeding trough (manger).
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In the face of Judas we see those who like to spend someone else’s money. It is not a question as to the worthiness of the cause, but Judas is never recorded as offering out of his own wallet. Think about it: How much money is spent by political candidates for positions that pay less than $250,000 a year? And for what? To spend someone else’s money. When was the last time you heard that one of them would give everything of their own away to feed the poor except what they absolutely needed? Hmmm. Just what I thought. There is no great distance between the purse and the pocket of those who carry it.
And lastly, in the face of Mary we see those who have chosen to honor Christ with what they have. Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty: There is not much time left. Jesus said, “the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always.” While lost, man is pursuing a goal he can never achieve in stamping out poverty, the best money is spent in that which lays hold on his burial. What this world really needs is hope beyond the grave, not just hope beyond tomorrow; only Jesus can give them this.
Folks, the truth is that the U.S. Constitution never authorized the federal government to become a charitable organization or to tax one group of its citizens for the benefit of another. Rather than feathering their own beds with someone else’s money, it’s time for those in leadership to spend their own.
Ron Hamman is pastor of Independent Baptist Church of Wasilla. Contact him at 357-4229 or rghamman@mtaonline.net.
Comments
2 comment(s)Words of vitriol wrote on Oct 28, 2009 3:11 PM:
Really wrote on Oct 28, 2009 12:22 AM: