“The poor you will always have with you” (Mk.14/7) So do we tolerate poverty?

Sometimes it is hard to talk about poverty and social injustice—especially when we are do not experience the hardships. So instead of facing the issue, one might be tempted to say, taking from the Bible, “You will always have the poor with you”. So by saying this one might think that the issue is closed. There will always be the poor so it is better to accept this and move on. Now, did Jesus really say this? Yes, he did. What could he have meant by it?

The statement of Jesus is in a context that does not necessarily involve the poor—not directly. It is said in a story with a woman to whom the Good News is announced. In the account of Matthew the story happens a little bit before the last supper and the arrest of Jesus. A woman comes to Jesus and pours perfume on him. The perfume, we know, is very expensive. The gesture of the woman is a gesture honouring Jesus and it imitates the preparation of the dead before putting it in the tomb. So the woman foresees the cross of Jesus.

The disciples have a different view. They criticize the gesture—they do not like the devotion. It is a waste of money—the perfume is so expensive. Jesus answers them—in a rather dry way. Why get disturbed with what the woman just did. What she had done was beautiful. Jesus sees the gesture of the woman as beautiful.

The woman discerns the sacrifice of Jesus. She makes her own gesture—she participates by her sacrifice to the Lord. It is at this point when Jesus says, “You always have the poor with you…but you will not always have me”. There is a reference to Dt 15. It seems that only Jesus and the woman know the full sense of not having Jesus.

Just think about some people who are so “engaged” with the poor that their involvement affect their family lives and even their health. This is not in conformity with the Gospel. It is not exactly what Jesus had in mind. Our devotion is towards Jesus and not the poor themselves. Yes, we must love our neighbour—especially our poor neighbour—but we are devoted to Jesus.

The woman understands this…but not the disciples. The spiritual life must be guided properly to be able to manage well the service towards the poor.

Note the verse in Deuteronomy that Jesus cites. “There will be no poor with you” (Dt.15/4). Why? Because the Lord God will fill you will good things. The Lord God “will bless you abundantly in the land, he will give you to possess as a heritage”. In this situation nobody will be poor and needy. In the land to be given by the Lord, there will be enough for all. There will even be surplus that will allow trade and commerce with other nations (see Dt.15/6).

God never wants a world of lack. God never put the human in a world that cannot meet human basic needs. God had created a world of abundance for the human. But, again with Deuteronomy, there is a requirement involved: “listen to the voice of the LORD, your God, and carefully observe this entire commandment” (Dt.15/5). Abundance depends on fidelity to God.

Yet it does happen that there are the poor and people in need. So, Deuteronomy adds, “…you shall not harden your heart nor close your hand against your kin who is in need. Instead, you shall freely open your hand and generously lend what suffices to meet that need” (Dt.15/7-8). Strange, is it not, that even if God gives abundance there are still the poor.

Why are there the poor in Israel, so much so that God requires an open hand and support for the needy? In the promised land there is still injustice and people are not so faithful to the commands of the Lord. Israel has failed to comply to the Lord. (And is this not true also today?)

Let us return to Jesus. What might he mean when he says that the poor will always be with us? Jesus speaks of adoration. Jesus speaks of the poor in answer to the critique against the devotion of the woman. Jesus mentions Deuteronomy to remind the disciples that there are the poor because of the negligence of society—injustice is still the “favourite sport”. Self-centeredness is still the favourite “pass time”. The disciples do not care for the poor nor for the woman. Jesus reproaches his disciples. Deuteronomy gives a command. There are the poor and the needy…therefore “open your hand freely to your poor and to your needy kin in your land” (Dt 15/11). The land is a land of abundance given by the Lord God. There is enough for all. The human creature—in the likeness of the Lord God—is so gifted with creativity and the capacity for production and service to all. But the darkness of the human heart contradicts the created order of God.

When Jesus says that the poor will always be with us, he is triggering shame. The fact that there are poor is a cause of shame. We are reminded of the true cause of poverty: human darkness, human selfishness. No, Jesus is not justifying the presence of the poor.

Jesus is not giving a pretext about the poor. Jesus reminds the disciples—and us—that the poor are with us because we do not keep the commandments of God.

Our relationship with the Lord God has degenerated. It has degenerated up to the point of injustice to others and to nature itself.

Jesus is not teaching us toleration about poverty. He is not saying that there is nothing we can do about poverty since the poor is always present anyway. No. In fact, we should share…and when we share “…give generously and not with a stingy heart” (Dt 15/10). Share and the result will be “…that the LORD, your God, will bless you in all your works and undertakings”.