CHRISTIANS MUST FEED THE POOR AND WELCOME THE STRANGER

From the beginning, Israel was called to Mishpat and Sedeqah. Throughout the Bible, God’s people were expected to treat others “justly” and “compassionately. They were expected to worship God appropriately, no doubt, to honor the Sabbath, give tithes, and so forth… but they were judged on the way they lived and how they treated others. Mishpat (justice), and Sedeqah, (righteousness), defined their love for God and neighbors.

They were expected to behave themselves, for sure, but their faithfulness was measured by the way they lived and treated others. And so, throughout both Testaments, similar questions are asked: did you leave some of your field untouched and some of your vineyards unpicked… so that the poor and the vulnerable, the orphans and the widows, could survive? Did you feed the hungry? Did you welcome the stranger? Did you keep your thumbs off the scale in the market? Did you offer merciful justice? Was your justice mixed with mercy and kindness? Were you able to recall when you were a stranger, when you were down and out, when you needed a little help to get on your feet? Are you able to see that some of those among you are especially vulnerable and that, for them, justice will require an act of kindness and empowerment? Sedeqah- merciful justice- doing the right thing- is a big part of what it means to be faithful!

In today’s passage we join Isaiah as he sings a song for God. It’s about His people, His vineyard, His disappointment, and it goes like this. God makes the case that He had done all that He could do for his people. He placed them in paradise to begin with. He started over with Noah, freed his people when they were slaves in Egypt, gave them a land of "milk and honey," called them to faithfulness through his prophets, and forgave them again and again. He had protected them, nurtured them, comforted them, and now he cries, “What more could I have done?” I gave my all to these people and I expected anavim (delicious grapes), but instead I see beusim (wild grapes that are good for nothing). I looked for mishpat (justice) but found mispah (oppression). I expected righteousness (sedeqah), but heard cries for help (seaqah). My people, God seems to be saying, have not lived as my people. They have not been just or righteous and these are the very things I long to see. 

In today’s world, taking care of those who are hungry and naked is seen through a political lens, as is leaving some of your profit for the poor and welcoming strangers into your community. This is unfortunate because mishpat and sedeqah are not political issues. They are matters of faithfulness, obedience, and kindness. Sharing what we have, walking across the street to help our neighbor, welcoming people who don't look like us or live like us, and making sure that everybody is treated as if they are somebody in Christ... has long been at the heart of our faith! Indeed, it is much of what it means to be a Christian and it frustrates me when either party tries to claim it social justice and righteousness for itself. 

Jesus didn't talk about things like guaranteed incomes and trickle down economics, but he did hold these truths close to his heart: 1) everybody is somebody in God’s eyes; 2) no one should be discriminated against for "superficial" differences; and 3) blessings, like wealth, time, and attentiveness, must be shared with those who need them! In his Sermon of the Mount, Jesus noted that citizens of the kingdom mourn for a broken world, do what they can to "repair" it, give to the needy, love their enemies, and store up their treasures in heaven. The Hebrews didn’t have government programs for the poor, but God’s people have always been expected to welcome strangers, feed the hungry, and set the oppressed free. Indeed, this is what it means to love our neighbors as ourselves!

In the 25^th chapter of Matthew, we join the passage just as Jesus announces who "is in" and who "is out." Come on in, he will say, to those who are assembled on his right side. Come on in… “for I was was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me”’ Wow. It's an open-book test and we have the answer! It’s as simple as this. Christians see Christ in the least among them... and they feed him when he is hungry, clothe him when he is naked, lift him up when he lies along the roadside, visit him when he is lying in a hospital bed, a hospice bed, or his death bed, liberate him when he is imprisoned by one of the destructive forces that get a hold of us, and accept him in whatever form he appears to us. 

All Christians do these things, no matter where or how they worship and with no account for their political views. There are all sorts of things we can quibble about in our time, but loving others as we love ourselves is not one of them! Amen!