Remember the Poor in the Time of Coronavirus (COVID-19) [Galatians 2:10]
A Student asked anthropologist Margaret Mead, “What is the first sign of civilization in a culture?
Mead answered, “A 15000 year’s old femur with clear signs of a healed fracture.”
The femur, the strongest bone in the human body links knee to hip. No one can survive with a broken femur. So a broken femur that had healed simply meant that someone had cared for the injured one. Cared enough to carry him to safety, to feed him and to keep him warm through the six weeks that took the bone to knit and heal. In simple words, Mead says that caring is the first indication of a civilization.
James writes, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress …”[1] (James 1:27) Nationwide Lockdown due to COVID-19 has caused distress among the poor families. They can’t work, which means no money – no food, nothing. In such situation, alongside the need to care for our families and love our neighbours, God is also calling us to remember the poor.
OUR GOD REMEMBERS THE POOR
God commanded Israelites: leave some grains in the field or fruits in vineyard to the poor (Levi 19:9-10, 23:22); be generous to the poor (Deut. 15:7-11) and the poor should not be oppressed (Deut. 24:12-15; Pro. 22:22; Zech. 7:10). In the proverbs, God says that one who is generous to the poor, is blessed (14:21); honours God (14:31) and lends to the Lord (19:17). God declared that true fasting is not to stay hungry, but to feed the hungry; to provide the shelter to homeless poor; and to clothe the naked (Is. 58:7). God’s anger had kindled against the nations whenever the poor were oppressed (Is. 3:16; 10:2, Eze. 18:10) or neglected (Eze. 16:49). God delivers those in the day of trouble who care the poor (Ps. 41:1). In the time of global health emergency due to COVID-19; God has called us to care the poor. For God remembers the poor.
OUR LORD JESUS HAD REMEMBERED THE POOR
Our Lord Jesus was born and raised in a poor family (cf. Mt. 8:20; 2 Cor. 8:9). “… Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.” Some thought that, because Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling him, “Buy … that he should give something to the poor.” (John 13:27, 29) This passage of Scripture indicates that Jesus regularly helped the poor in their needs. Jesus also declared his commission to proclaim good news to the poor (Luke 4:18). He encouraged people to invite the poor in the banquet (Luke 14:12).
Even Jesus declared the salvation to household of Zacchaeus, as soon as he told that he would give half of his possessions to the poor (Luke 19:8-9). It didn’t mean that Zacchaeus was saved because he decided to give the poor. It was not so. Jesus indicated that genuine salvation bears the fruit. It cultivates within us compassionate heart to the poor. That’s why, Jesus asked the rich young man who came to him asking the way of salvation – “… sell what you possess and give to the poor …” (Mt. 19:21). Our Lord Jesus has set the example and we are called to follow his footsteps. So remember the poor.
APOSTLES HAD REMEMBERED THE POOR
After the life transforming encounter with Jesus (Acts 9: 1-19; 1 Tim. 1:13), Paul began to proclaim the Gospel especially among the Gentiles. Church leaders in Jerusalem had acknowledged his calling and missionary work among Gentile, but only request from them was to remember the poor (Gal. 2:9-10). It denotes that the example of Jesus’s remembering the poor had taken deep root in the lives of Apostles and had shaped philosophy and practice of their ministry. That’s why we see in Act. 6, there was regular provision of food for poor widows. In Acts 4:32-37, we also find that early believers used to sell their property; and to bring to Apostles’ feet; and it was distributed to each as any had need.
Therefore Apostle Paul himself frequently encouraged the Gentile Churches to extend their help to the poor (Rom. 15:26-27, 1 Cor. 16:1-4). James also exhorts us in the epistle that we should remember the poor when they come in our assembly (2:1-7), when they are in need (2:14-17) and when they labour in our fields (5:4). It was indispensable part of Apostles’ ministry in 1st century, so remember the poor.
MISSIONARIES HAD REMEMBERED THE POOR
In 1869, young Irishman Wellesley Bailey sailed to India to join the police, but after staying for a while, he began to notice the great needs of the poor people around him. It turned him to become missionary rather than a police officer. He joined Dr. J. H. Morrison who looked after some beggars suffering with leprosy in Ambala, Punjab. One day he visited to those beggars in their huts along with Morrison and he was quite shocked by what he saw: many of them had clawed hands and disfigured faces. Deeply moved by this incident, later he started The Leprosy Mission (TLM) and opened its first leprosy asylum in Chamba, Himachal Pradesh in 1875. Presently, it is known as District Leprosy Hospital runs under state government.
Born in Mussoorie (Uttrakhand) and brought up in Damoh (Madhya Pradesh) as a Missionary kid, Dr. Victor C. Rambo had seen the sufferings of the poor in the time of flood and epidemic during his childhood. After becoming surgeon in USA, he returned to India as medical missionary and began to serve as director of Christian Hospital Mungeli in 1925. Later he noticed that blindness is the major problem in the region and he pioneered the eye camps in villages. Dr Victor Rambo also used to come in villages of Kullu and Lahaul to conduct eye camps in summer every year in those days. As a result of his service, Raison Eye Hospital at Kullu was born. At present this hospital runs under AIIMS, conducts eye camps every year in summer and thousands of patient have received their sight. And what more should we say? For these pages are not enough to pen the pioneering work for the poor by other missionaries like Dr. Idda Scudder, Amy Carmichael, Alexender Duff, Pandita Ramabai and many more, who started hospital for women, rescued girls from evils, opened schools for girls, gave shelters to widows, etc. These missionaries had great zeal to proclaim the gospel to unsaved, but when they saw the need of people, they also realised their obligation to remember the poor and couldn’t confined themselves only to preach the gospel. Instead, they walked in the old path with new shoes and proclaimed the Gospel louder than from the pulpits (cf. Eph. 6:15).
CONCLUSION
As a disciple of Jesus Christ, we are obligated to help the poor inside the church and outside the Church respectively (cf. Gal. 6:10, Rom. 12:20). During the time of nationwide lockdown caused by COVID-19, God reminds us of the parable of the final judgement that Son of Man will identify the righteous by their compassionate service to the poor (Mt. 25:31-46) and of the rich man who didn’t care the needs of poor and sick Lazarus; for the rich man didn’t believe what Moses and the prophets had preached (Luke 16:19-31). In simple words, a faith fails to cultivate compassionate heart to the poor, is a dead faith and no one will ever be saved by a dead faith (cf. James 2:14-26; Eph. 2:8-10).
In such time of global lockdown, every missionary must rededicate his life to God’s ministry saying: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” (Luke 4:18-19) Let it may be our motto: “the Gospel to every person and generosity to every poor.” Never forget to remember the poor.
[1] Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All right reserved.
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