Jesus, on the rich and the poor

We are living in difficult times. The divergence between the rich and the poor is huge and increasing. Rising inequality as registered by all indicators is as high as it has ever been since the great depression. Many have warned that such inequality will spawn a raft of severe social problems (the book, “Spirit Level”, Joseph Stiglitz, Pikett). Even some of the rich themselves have alerted us and said that this trend needs to be reversed (Warren Buffet, Bill Gates).

So I ask myself, I wonder what Jesus that wandering wisdom teacher and healer of long ago, would have to say about all of this? And what about the ragtag group of his followers, that intrepid band of interpreters of Jesus? What would they have to say about the problem of the rich and the poor?

The Rich

Jesus at times speaks directly and forcefully about the the rich. Let’s look at the following passages:

A rich man could enter “the kingdom of heaven”, but it won’t be easy and his riches won’t help him much. Jesus said, “Truly I say to you it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, 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” (Mt. 20:23-24, Lk. 18:24). The smallest gate entering into Jerusalem was called ‘the eye of the needle’. A camel on its knees with difficulty could in fact squeeze through it.

In another story, a rich man came to Jesus. He said he had kept all the commandments and he asked what more was needed so that he could inherit eternal life. “Jesus looking upon him, loved him and said to him, ‘You lack one thing, go, sell what you have and give to the poor and you will have treasures in heaven… At that saying, the rich man’s countenance fell, for he had great possessions” (Mt.10: 21-22).

Never fear, remember the eye of the needle. It is possible to be rich and to be a follower of Jesus. At Jesus’ death, “a rich man from Arimithea, named Joseph went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus” (Mt.25:57-58).

From now on the remaining references to the rich (and the poor) are limited to Luke’s gospel (the gospel clearly directed to a Gentile audience) and the epistle of James (supposedly the brother of Jesus).

Luke’s references to the rich are not found in the other gospels. Here we see the human hand at work. The writers of these ‘holy scriptures’ may have been divinely inspired but each one had a particular point of view that he wanted to emphasize. Here are Luke’s contributions:

Jesus says, “Take heed and beware of all covetousness, for a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” He then goes on to tell the following story.

“And he told them a parable saying, ‘The land of a rich man brought forth plentifully, and he thought to himself,’ what shall I do for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said,’ I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones; and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul you have ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease eat, drink, and be merry. But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be? So is he that lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich towards God”. (Lk.12:15-21).

And again,

Jesus tells his disciples a story about the need to manage ones earthly resources well. He ends his story with the admonition, “He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; he who is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much… No servant can serve two masters; or either he will hate the one and love the other or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (money). The Pharisees who were lovers of money heard all his and they scoffed at him…” ( Lk. 6: -15).

And there is more,

“There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, full of sores, who desired to be fed from the rich man’s table; moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried; and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes, and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus in his bosom. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy upon me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Son remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here and you are in anguish.” (Lk.16: 19-25).

You don’t need to believe in a literal heaven and hell to see that this is strong allegorical language. The end result of a life lived for riches alone is tragic in the eyes of Jesus.

Finally here is Luke again as he records Jesus’ words,

“He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury; and he saw a poor widow put in two copper coins. And he said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; for they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all the living that she had.” (Lk.21:1-4).

How strange it is that it is often the poor who are the most ready to help their fellow poor brothers and sisters. Let us however be glad when the rich come to their senses and contribute massively of their enormous wealth (i.e. W. Buffet and B. Gates).

Our next contributor to this exposition on riches comes from James (Santiago), the brother of Jesus. He has much to say on this subject in his short epistle.

“Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation and the rich in his humiliation, because like the flower of grass he will pass away. For the sunrises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls and its beauty perishes. So will the rich man fade way in the midst of his pursuits. “(James: 1:9-11).

Or as they say, you cannot take it with you. The rich man shares with the poor the fact that both will die.

Again,

“My brethren show no partiality as you hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man with gold rings and in fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing comes in, and you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, ‘Have a seat here please,’ while you say to the poor man, ‘Stand there’, or ‘Sit at my feet,’. Have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen my beloved brethren. Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he has promised to them who love him? But you have dishonoured the poor man. Is it not the rich who drags you into court? “(James 2: 1-6.)

And again,

“Come now, you rich, weep and howl for miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days. Behold, the wages of the labourers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter, you have condemned, you have killed the righteous man: he does not resist you.” (James5: 1-6).

What shall we make of all of this? The New Testament is not really a rich man’s book. However the rich of this world have often used the Christian message as they have gone rampaging through the world, exploiting its resources and dominating other peoples, often with the support of a compliant Christian church.

Let us now turn to see what Jesus and his followers had to say about the poor.

The Poor

If the New Testament is pretty hard on the rich, it is amazingly sympathetic to the plight of the poor. Take a listen:

Matthew records the words of Jesus as “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mt.5:3), while Luke records “Blessed are the poor for yours is the kingdom of God” (Lk. 6:20). Given the overall thrust of the NT on this theme I would guess that Luke got it right, while Matthew tried to soften the blow.

Matthew, who is writing to his fellow Jews, has Jesus saying of his mission, “The poor have the good news preached to them” (Mt. 11:5) And the rich? Well see the above.

Three of the gospel writers have Jesus saying “You always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me” (Mt.26:11, Lk.14:7, Jn.12:8). This occurred after a woman had anointed Jesus’ feet with oil. No doubt this statement is comforting to the rich. After all what can one do? There will always be poverty anyway.

In Luke, Jesus gives instructions as to how to invite people to a party.

“When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your kinsmen or your rich neighbours, lest they also invite you in return, and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. “(Lk. 14:12-14).

Again we see Jesus consistent and ongoing sympathy with the poor (whom, one can be sure consisted of the majority of his followers).

Again we see James taking up the cause of the poor as did his elder brother Jesus.

“Listen my beloved brethren. Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom?” (James2:5)

Finally, was this pro-poor emphasis passed on to Jesus’ subsequent followers? In the book of Acts we read,

“All who believed were together and had all things in common; they sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all, as any had need” (Acts2:45). It has been well pointed out that this experiment in absolute sharing did not last long.

The apostle Paul was the main propagator of the faith into the Gentile (i.e. non Jewish) world. How much of Jesus’ poor-rich relations seemed to rub off on Paul? He speaks approvingly of early Christian sharing:

“For Macedonia and Achaia (two Gentile churches) have been pleased to make some contribution to the poor among the saints at Jerusalem; they were pleased to do it, and indeed they are in debt to them, for if the Gentiles have come to share in our spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings.” (Romans 15:26-27).

It seems that a spiritual experience should lead to some material action.

Again in Galatians, Paul writes, “…only they would have us remember the poor, which very thing I was eager to do.”(Gal.2:10).

And finally, in a letter to the Corinthian church, the early Christians are said to be treated as “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor yet making many rich; as having nothing yet possessing everything” (II Cor.6:10).

Conclusion

For a spiritual text, the New Testament has quite a bit to say about material wealth, and more specifically the relations between the rich of this world and the poor. In a world of widening financial inequality what might this say to us rich Christians?

In his day, Jesus did give us this piece of advice,

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will be your heart also.” (Mt.6:19-21).

Rebellious Seeker

Ottawa, January 2022