你們常有窮人同你們在一起 The Poor You Will Always Have With You

5^th World Day of the Poor
Theme: 你們常有窮人同你們在一起 The Poor You Will Always Have With You (Mark 14:7)

In these two years of social unrest and pandemic, we are definitely in need of God’s accompaniment and support. Thus wherever appropriate in prayers or activities, the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong would invoke the idea of Emmanuel: God is with us (Matthew 1:23). Indeed, Emmanuel forms an inclusio for the gospel of Matthew. He brought up the prophecy of Isaiah (Isaiah 7:14) to show that the virginal birth of Jesus is one of the signs showing that He is the Messiah. In the last chapter of Matthew, Jesus pledges that He is with us always until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). It is truly reassuring and consoling to read Matthew in this light.

Seeing the world around us in the light of faith, we are able to see God in most of the things we encounter. Of course, some are easier to identify while many others are more difficult to discern. For example, it is easier to see sunshine, the air we breathe, beautiful sceneries and good people we meet as signs of God’s loving care. Whereas, it is more challenging to see God in sufferings, in discouraging situations and in developments spinning downwards.
If anything, this pandemic teaches us at least one lesson. Like any virus, the Covid-19 is an indifferent virus like the Spanish Flu and we are going to live with it for ages ahead. First of all, it kills people that we love as well as people that we hate. Therefore, we should not fancy that God sent this virus to punish the world. No, instead this virus exposes a lot of ignorance, hypocrisy, greed and bigotry among peoples and governments. At the outbreak, commoners hoarded surgical masks and medical supplies in frenzy. Governments blame each other for releasing the virus from bio-chemical laboratories. Pharmaceutical giants rush to manufacture inadequately tested vaccinations to occupy the market. Experts relent their scientific objectivity to become consenting megaphones for the states and developed countries impose third vaccination while under-developed countries aren’t even able to deliver the first jab etc. Covid-19 shows how fragile all our social institutions and relations are. Are we able to see God in these failings? What about sufferings? Are we able to see God’s loving care when bad things happen to good people? If God is always with us, so are sufferings! If God is a mystery, so are sufferings! Are we able to see God in poverty, starvation, oppressions and persecutions as well? Let’s not be too ambitious. Meditating on poverty is enough to help us extrapolate our discernment to other areas. Perhaps this is the Pope had in mind when he made “The Poor You Will Always Have With You” (Mark 14:7) the theme of World Day of the Poor 2021.

First of all, we need to recognize that our negative feelings towards poverty could be a consequence of social and perhaps cultural conditioning. Bear in mind that culture/history is handed down to us through people in power who were inevitably rich and powerful enough to put their opinions down in writings. Thus we are fed with ideas which equate successes with health, wealth, longevity and fame. They blamed poverty on the sloth on the part of the poor. Not only are the poor an eyesore for the affluent society, but they are also a burden draining our social security resources. They don’t deserve our love and care because they have no contribution to the society!
Alas! Nowadays, we see that poverty can be a structural evil because many employers are greedy. They make exploitative laws so that many hard-working labourers are not able to feed themselves and their families. At least three things result: many people ignore purity/simplicity, forget about temperance and have turn workaholic. Becoming workaholic creates relational poverty because people spend less quality time with friends and relatives. They may be rich materially but lonely and poor emotionally. Without temperance, people hoard without restrain, fuelling further consumption and affluent spending. Without purity and simplicity, our hearts become congested and leave no room to love God and our neighbour! Powerful people are totally misled and they mislead many others! They are truly blind leaders of the blind (Matthew 15:14)!

Secondly, why did Jesus make poverty the first Beatitude (5:3)? The Son of God is not trying to be revolutionary to turn mundane wisdom upside down. He comes to show us the path returning to the Father. Thus He reveals Himself to be “The way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6). He led a simple life in poverty, free of mundane burdens in full communion with the Father. This is the proper way of life we, who were created in God’s image (Genesis 1:26) should lead. In the Pope’s word, “Jesus teaches that poverty is not the result of fate, but a concrete sign pointing to His presence among us. We do not find him when and where we want, but see him in the lives of the poor, in their sufferings and needs, in the often inhuman conditions in which they are forced to live.” (2021 Message #2)

When Jesus says, “The poor you will always have with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them, but you will not always have me” (Mark 14:7), you may interpret it as Jesus’ affirmation that poverty is a structural evil created by the rich and powerful. If they wish, they have all the resources required to change the situation. However, their hearts are so congested that they don’t always have the Author of Life, Lord Jesus Christ in them. Therefore, poverty persists … etc.
But when we interpret the text in the Pope’s manner, we may avoid making judgment and condemning people whom we don’t fully know. Yes, the Pope doesn’t deny that poverty is the fruit of structural evil which he does not condone. However, he is one step ahead. Not only is poverty a piece of evidence condemning human greed, but it is also a sign of God’s presence. God doesn’t enjoy the company of the arrogant. He feels more comfortable to dwell among the poor, the needy, the weak and the pure ones. Therefore, we seldom find God among the mighty, but to be sure, we shall be able to find God in the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the homeless, the sick and the imprisoned (Matthew 25:35-36).

What do you think God is doing among the poor? To accuse us for not loving Him in the poor and improving their situation, thus to condemn us? No. The Devil enjoys accusing us days and night (Revelation 12:20), not Jesus who lives forever to make intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25). Rather, the poor is a reminder to help us recognize our own poverty, if not materially, relationally and spiritually. Beware, the end is near. Do you have sufficient oil in your lamp to meet the bridegroom (Matthew 25:1-12)? When the Lord comes in glory to judge the living and the dead, are you able to tell the King, “My friend, glad to meet you again!”
God bless!
Photo Credit: https://7dayspoverty.hkccla.org.hk/
4^thWorld Day of the Poor