Christian Mission and Poverty

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Christian Mission and Poverty

live in now, Jesus teaches us to pray that God’s kingdom would come and God’s will would be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matt 6:10). Jesus came that humanity might have abundant life, both now and in the world to come (John 10:10). This does not mean that we should expect prosperity and riches but that the Lord meets the physical needs of those who seek first his kingdom (Matt 6:33). As the body of Christ, when we work to meet the physical needs of others (hunger, thirst, housing, clothing, health, freedom from bondage) we minister to Christ himself (Matt 25:40). As we engage in God’s mission in the world, we are called to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matt 22:39). This means that we desire that our neighbors, especially those who are poor, might have access to the same healthy and whole life we desire for ourselves. We are to love in “deed and in truth,” not just “word or talk.” (1 John 3:18). “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?” (1 John 3:17, ESV). C. Rene Padilla used the term holistic to describe the Gospel. He contended that we must not reduce the Gospel to a message of either spiritual or material salvation alone. The good news includes both! In many ways, this message repeats what the earliest Christians believed. In the Didache , we heard Jewish followers of Jesus exhorting us to both personal faithfulness and communal care. The Didache called us to share with those in need, refusing to call things our own. Benedict envisioned communities shaped by worship and work. He saw that the Gospel meant spiritual union with