I was having a discussion with friends the other night about a book we had read, and a quote from the Bible came up that troubled me greatly – I wanted to share my thoughts on this.
The quote was one that is used often, where Jesus is depicted as saying “The poor will be with you always”, usually used in the context of defending the notion of inequality with regard to distribution of resources. As if to say, “Hey, Jesus said it himself – the poor will always be with us – so it is OK to maintain policies that allow inequity between rich and poor.”
There are many quotes from Scripture that are taken out of context (in my opinion) and used to justify the actions that we want to continue to take. In my opinion, this is one that is most offensive.
The story appears in 3 of the Gospels. They are as follows: (NIV)
Mathew: Ch26: v11
6While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, 7a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.
8When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. 9“This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.”
10Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 11The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. 12When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. 13I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
John: Ch12, v5
1Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3Then Mary took about a pint[a] of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
4But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5“Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.[b]” 6He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.
7“Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. ” It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. 8You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”
Mark: Ch14: v7
3While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.
4Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? 5It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages[a] and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.
6“Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. 8She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. 9I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
The Greek interlinear that I have for the verse in Mark translates exactly as follows for the verse in question. “For always the poor you have with yourselves and when you wish you are able for them to do good, but me not always do you haveâ€
The essence of the story is that a woman does something nice for Jesus, and she is criticized by the disciples for using funds unwisely. Jesus’ rebuke is consistently aimed at the criticism of this woman, and within that criticism is the implication that this woman’s kindness should not be reduced because there are other kindnesses not yet given. Jesus even says of the poor in one of the versions that “you can help them any time you wantâ€. Note that he is not suggesting in any way that the poor should not be helped.
Every action within the ministry of Jesus seemed aimed at trying to reduce inequity, and find ways to “bring the poor to the tableâ€. In this passage, I see a Jesus who is trying to help his disciples see a potential pitfall of the ministry of bringing greater justice that he has put them on. He is, after all, only a couple of days away from his execution at this point in his ministry, and he needs to put the finishing touches on what he has taught to those closest to him. In modern, western style bullets, here is how I read the message:
- Of course we are here to help the poor, and bring those who are outcast into the fold of the Kingdom of God – we should be doing this every day.
- In your zeal to “do goodâ€, be careful that you don’t end up at each other’s throats in criticism over the best way to do good – this is the easiest way for evil to enter into your midst.
- Apply your goodness and kindness to the problem right in front of you, and apply it with zeal and gusto.
- Do not allow your attention to be taken from the problem that has been given to you and is right in front of you. This is hard to avoid, as our natural tendency is to be anxious about a distant problem, as this is sometimes easier than applying ourselves to the problem at hand. This is also an easy way for evil to make your hands idle.
- God will supply the problems and challenges that you need in your life to move forward – do not question this by trying to focus on other problems – solve what you have in front of you.
Now I don’t know how closely my reading of this message is to what Jesus meant when this event took place. We are just guessing and accepting really that the event even took place like this. However, this message is easy to read from the event, it is consistent with the rest of the teaching of Jesus, and it is consistent with what you would expect within the time-plane that the event was to have taken within, (days before his execution).
This message is dramatically different than a message that even begins to imply that Jesus was “OK†with the notion that there should be large discrepancies between the poor and the rich in the world, and that we should not try to make the world more just and equitable place.
Don’t fret and be anxious over the problems that are enduring and complex. Try to solve them, of course, but don’t think that there is a quick fix. Focus each day on the problems that are on your plate, and work to make the world a more just and equitable place. Actions are much more effective than anxieties.
