Strangers and angels: walking with poverty (Part 1 of 2)
/by David Harris
This blog is part 1 of a sermon from our rich archive. It was first written as an entry for Sermon of the Year 2021 and published in Cross the Divide.
‘Keep looking straight ahead. Avoid eye contact.’
This piece of advice was given to me recently by a friend when we were walking down our local high street. The advice was given in response to the number of people asking for money – sitting at the entrance to supermarkets, or coffee shops, or next to cash machines, and often with hungry-looking dogs. The familiarity of this picture within Britain today (and other nations), pulls into focus a real clash of cultures and experiences that confront us on an almost daily basis, and raises real questions for those of us who want to do more than look straight ahead and avoid eye contact.
What is the right way to respond to people asking for money on our streets?
Should we give cash, buy a sandwich, or stop and have a chat?
Should we suggest that they contact a local charity, or sell The Big Issue as a way of supporting themselves?
If we give to, or spend time with, one person, what about the next, and the next?
What about when we feel frightened or threatened by the way the request is made?
How do we maintain social distance in these situations?
A simple walk down the high street could take a great deal of our time – and money. What if we are in a hurry for an appointment, or don’t have any cash with us?
What does Jesus say?
How we respond to people who are not as fortunate as we are is at the heart of the gospel, and is illustrated in the story that Jesus told about the sheep and the goats [Matthew 25:31-46]. In the story, a king says to one group of people, ‘You are blessed … for I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
And, to another group of people the king says, ‘Depart from me ... I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ When the first group ask when they did all these things for the king, he replies that whatever you did for those in greatest need, you did it for me.
In Jesus’ story, the people who have dared to cross the divide between those who have and those who have not, are thanked and supported. Those who have stayed within their comfortable silos, and ignored the people in greatest need, are condemned and put aside. The challenge to us is how we choose to be in the category of those who wish to respond compassionately and appropriately to our fellow citizens in their times of need.
Jesus encourages us to aspire to a kind of kingdom that is diametrically opposed to a way of living that is:
self-centred
self-seeking
keeping one step ahead of the rest
looking after number one
participating in a rat race
not prepared to make eye contact with those who are suffering in plain sight.
Clearly, just listing clichés to make people feel guilty is not enough, but our starting point is recognising that in God’s kingdom there is no favouritism, and that all people are of inherent value. There are no divisions in acceptance to this kingdom between those who are experiencing good fortune or at least surviving on a daily basis, and those who are not. The ways in which we respond, and interact with each other, become a mark of our Christian lives.
The second part of this sermon will be published next week…
David Harris
David Harris is a Methodist local preacher based in Sheffield. Following a career in social work management, he worked for a national homelessness charity and for the Methodist Church in different roles, including as a lay chaplain at Nottingham Trent University. He has contributed to magazines, newspapers, and radio and is a regular contributor to 60 Second Sermon on BBC Radio Sheffield.
