Pt 6. An Answer

Looking back to Jesus, I’ve noticed some new things.

Jesus tackled poverty on an informal relational basis. No feeding programmes, but the odd miracle to share lunch. No national revolution, but people empowered to live a full life, even if not a wealthy one. Failures dealt with and people affirmed back to action. Quality time and honour showed. All the things we would think about doing to help a friend going through a tough time. But perhaps not how we think about helping someone who sells the Big Issue? Jesus seems to be trying to defeat poverty one person at a time! It’s not how I’d think of trying to save the world - seems like quite a slow method. Looking at history, it has been! But what was that thing about ‘slow and steady’?

I just realised: Jesus’ teaching wasn’t just an expression of his philosophy and philosophy of ministry, it was something he did to help people; to give them courage, hope and wisdom to navigate life. Jesus perceived deeper needs than people felt themselves, and I don’t just mean spiritual needs. And of course, these areas took time and patience to change. People certainly didn’t ‘get’ his teaching first time.

All Jesus’ ministry fought poverty, not just the toolkit I’ve got fixed on. I didn’t notice a lot of it because he was doing it one person at a time, rather than in a systematic way. But all his life should be our precedent.

Jackie Pullinger’s story chimes in with this. The patient (effectively, parenting) work she did, living in community with her recovering addicts was essential to their long term change. Those that wouldn’t agree to it generally ended up using again. Her story also adds an element – that Jesus’ power continues to be available and relevant to the fight against poverty. And that Jesus may exert it in ways he did not in the Bible, and has not before.

Which brings us to a perhaps reassuringly unclinical answer to my original question. The Bible does offer precedents for helping people escape poverty. There are probably plenty more I still haven’t seen that remain to be discovered by faithful Jesus-followers partnering with him in this work. And the precedents really do recognise all the complexities of poverty, and different appropriate responses.

If we want to join Jesus in bringing his kingdom to our smashed-about world, we should think carefully, work relationally with people, and always be open to his supernatural power. Above all, we must keep in step with him, because that’s how he can lead us in the unexpected and unlike-how-we-would-do-it way we should go.