Hans Walter Wolff
in Anthropology of the Old Testament
A couple of weeks ago, I preached a sermon on Leviticus 13 - the chapter that includes laws about how to deal with infectious diseases in the camp of the Israelites. The conclusion we came to that week is somewhat obvious, but important nonetheless - God cares about more than just "souls" or "spirits." God cares about physical bodies - both my own physical body and the physical bodies of those around me. The next logical step, of course, is that if God cares about bodies then so should I and so should we as followers of Christ.
Ever since I preached that sermon, I have been unable to stop thinking about the implications. Arguably the biggest problem facing our world is poverty - the obscene number of people who cannot provide even the basics of life to themselves or their family. It has given rise to a number of questions in my contemplative moments.
1. To what extent am I complicit in the abject poverty of such persons - both here in Oklahoma City and all over the world? Notice that I'm not asking whether I am complicit or not - it seems unavoidable to me that, for no other reason than my conspicuous (over)consumption, I have and continue to contribute to global poverty.
2. How can I stop being a contributor and start becoming an advocate? This has got to stop being abstract thinking and move into the realm of actual life and behavior change.
3. Why should I have a nice warm coat while the homeless guy begging on the corner shivers in the icy weather? After all, I have a warm house and a warm car, he has nothing.
I don't know why, but I keep getting more and more obsessed with this issue. Further, it's more than just a "thinking obsession," it has moved into the realm of the splangchna. That's a fancy Greek word that means, basically, "guts" - as in stomach, intestines, that sort of thing. In the Greek, it is often the word that is translated in English as "compassion." This poverty thing is something more and more that I am feeling in my guts - as in that unexplainable feeling in the pit of your stomach that tells you that whatever causes that feeling is not only important but something you have the power to affect.
I can't get rid of that feeling, and I'm not even sure that I want to.
1 comment:
Interesting, Joe. I had a similar thought this morning on my way to work. I saw a homeless man bundled up in as many layers as he owned pushing a shopping cart with everything else he owned down the street. My heart hurts for all those who are poverty stricken not just in third world countries but right here in my own town! It reminded me of that discussion we had at Lenny's about this. It doesn't do any good to just recognize the need if we do nothing to help. I need to find a way to help the need in my community. That's really been on my heart this week... thanks for the reminder!
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