Foundations for Christian Mission, Mentor's Guide, MG04

1 7 6 /

F O U N D A T I O N S F O R C H R I S T I A N M I S S I O N

term “the poor” in the Scriptures is linked to a number of different concepts which serve as synonyms, including “the widow,” “the fatherless,” and the “stranger.” • List the standards God gave to his covenant people in regard to the generous and just treatment of the poor as a witness. These include special provisions for the care of the poor which were factored into the harvest and gleaning stipulations of the Law, justice in the courts where all matters, measures, and transactions were to be done honestly and rightly, regardless of person, and resources were to be shared in the Sabbatical year, with the poor provided a share of the produce of the fields and vineyards. • Further list out the standards, including how the people of God were forbidden to charge interest to the poor, fair timely payment for a day’s work (i.e., wages to be paid the same day with no oppression or defrauding allowed), with radical hospitality to be practiced to the poor (an “open hand policy”), and resources to be set aside for them (i.e., certain portions of the tithe and bounty to be given to the most needy and vulnerable in the midst of the community). The poor were to be included in all celebrations, and in the year of Jubilee, the poor were to recover their property, with provision made for those whose funds were short or absent. • Note the implications of these standards for God’s covenant community: God’s people were in all their dealings to reflect God’s identification with the poor, informed by God’s deliverance of them at the Exodus, and were to demonstrate the Lord’s shalom in all their relationships and dealings with others. • Give evidence how Jesus’ founding of the Church is God’s new covenant kingdom community, called to demonstrate the same shalom in the midst of the people of God. • Explain how Jesus’ Messiahship was inaugurated in acts of healing the oppressed and preaching Good News to the poor, who were the object of his attention, calling, ministry, and purpose, and authenticated his Messiahship to John the Baptist through works of justice and preaching to the poor. Further show how he verified and confirmed the salvation of others by their treatment of the poor, and how he identified without reservation to the “least of these” (i.e., the hungry, thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and the prisoner).

4