Good News of Great Joy for All People?

This is the story of one person searching for wisdom in this season, in this astonishing, amazing event, the birth of a child.

I work in the office of a small church in a congested, semi-suburban setting. Often enough people come to the church office seeking assistance with money or other needs. Their presence creates a dilemma, familiar to most who work in church offices, and familiar to those who live and work in urban and surrounding areas.

Can I be sure of the need? How should I respond?

The dilemma presented itself to me one recent Christmas season quite concretely. Early in the morning, shepherding the bulletin, I saw a man approach the church door. He entered and explained his need for assistance for him and his family. Out of work, he could not provide shelter, food, or Christmas presents for his family, which included two young boys. They were living in the family car, and the nights were cold. “Can you help?”

What to do with this man before me?

“Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.” So commanded Jesus (Luke 6:30-31; NRSV), to those who would follow him.

It seems to me Jesus does not give much warrant for concerning ourselves with the question, “Can I be sure of the need?” Jesus does not give us much room for escaping open-handed action to the question, “How should I respond?”

Yet we go through prudential calculations and advice, as if they represent the sum and substance of Christian ethical thought and response to the questions, to the need, to the person. And the Church has thus given over this kind of assistance to procedures and governmental structures.

We tell the person in need we do not have money on hand. We know that the church’s resources are collected through established procedures on Sunday and through the mail, then tidily deposited away in bank vaults. Then the resources are allocated to planned, budgeted items — building, cleaning, salaries, and some charity programs; and paid out by check on a regular basis, controlled and guarded by generally accepted financial procedures.

We refer the person to the county or state social services. In the end our biggest service comes in the form of telling the person the correct government offices to seek, or perhaps even in making the referring phone calls.

Good news of great joy only for those with means to buy and sell? Or good news of great joy for the poor and broken-hearted, the blind, oppressed, and captive?

Good news of great joy for all people. So announced the angel of the Lord to shepherds in fields and to the entire world (Luke 2:10).

Can I be sure of the need? How should I respond? What to do with this man before me?

These questions are not easy, and I certainly do not propose easy answers. I squirm at the questions. I grow silent in seeking answers. But then, asking easy questions and providing easy answers do not seem to be the sum and substance of a child, center of the universe, born by the wayside.