Introduction
This morning, I was asked to say something about how we can
respond to people begging on the street. I would like to do so in
the light of something the Apostle Paul said in his sermon in Acts
17 - something that is both simple and obvious, yet totally
radical. But first, a little background.
- A Blessing to All People
- The Whole World
The Bible starts with the creation of the world. What does
this tell us? Underneath all the deep theology, there is one very
simple point: God is interested in the whole world. It goes on to
the creation of Adam, the ancestor of the human race. God is
interested in the whole human race.
Come down to Abraham, and God's first word to him has seven
components - a good, Biblical number - and the final, climactic
promise is that all peoples on earth will be blessed through him.
It is the purpose and destiny of Abraham's descendants that all
peoples on earth will be blessed.
The Old Testament prophets repeated this truth, and the Jewish
people right up to Jesus' day affirmed it. Jesus came, and died
for the sins of the world. He commanded His followers to 'make
disciples of all nations' (Matthew), 'go into all the world and
preach the good news to all creation' (Mark), 'repentance and
forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations'
(Luke).
We could go on, but I think the point is made.
- The Whole Person
So this blessing is for the whole world. The other vital thing
to understand is that this blessing is for the whole person.
In Genesis chapter 2, God creates man from the dust of the
earth, breathes into him, and the man becomes a living being. You
probably know that neshamah (nesh-aw-maw) - the word used here for
'breath' - also means 'spirit'. We are both dust and breath, both
material and spirit. We are bodies made alive by the Spirit of
God. This is the Hebrew understanding of human nature.
The Greeks had a different idea: they thought we are
essentially spirits, trapped inside material bodies. For them,
the spirit was what mattered, and the body was unimportant. That
is why Socrates could face death so calmly. Why does this matter?
One of the problems we face is that Christian theology has, in
some areas, drawn more upon Greek philosophy than upon the Hebrew
scriptures. Jesus and the early Christians understood that God
cares about the human body. He cares about the material,
physical, practical details of our lives. That is why Jesus put
so much time and effort into caring for peoples' bodies, why He
washed His disciples' feet. That is why the very first project
the Church undertakes is to feed the widows.
Christianity is possibly the most materialistic religion in the
world. That is why we have meals together as an act of worship,
and why we look towards the resurrection of our bodies, and a New
Heaven and a New Earth in which we can enjoy living in our
resurrected bodies.
- Detour: Agreeing and Believing
So: God cares for the whole person, both body and spirit, and
He cares for everybody in the world. These are truths that every
orthodox Jew of Jesus' day would have agreed with.
I want to take a brief detour here, and mention the difference
between agreeing and believing. You see, the good, religious
people agreed with these truths, but Jesus and the early
Christians actually believed them.
I don't want us to get tied up with words here. You may not
use the same terminology, but I am sure you will recognise the
distinction.
We can agree with doctrines, we can seek to understand them and
explain them to others. We can explore the impact they have on
other doctrines. But we can do all this without believing them.
If you really believe a doctrine, you will live it.
Many people in the church hold to doctrines they don't believe.
I have discovered over the years that most evangelicals can
explain the concept of grace quite well. But many people who can
talk about grace, even church leaders, actually live with a
constant sense of guilt and failure. They may say they believe
the doctrine, but they don't actually live it. Their life says
that God will only love them if they perform to a certain
standard, whatever their words say.
It was like that within Judaism: most people would say they
believe that God loves the whole world, but they lived as though
He only really cared about the Jewish race. And that is the way
that people in every nation behave. At times of war, we get the
Bishops to bless the guns, because we need to believe that God is
on our side.
- Acts 17
- Paul in Athens
Let's now turn to Acts 17. We are looking here at Paul's
famous sermon in Athens. If you have any interest in the past at
all, this is one of the great moments of history: the Apostle Paul
bringing the gospel message to the greatest intellectual and
cultural centre in the known world.
What Paul did here was vital to the future spread of the
Christian faith across the world. There are lessons here that can
show us today how we can reach people who do not share our
assumptions and culture.
The way you do this is by talking their language and building
bridges. But we don't have time to explore that this morning.
- The Unknown God
Paul says: I see you are very religious. You worship an
'Unknown God'. I can tell you about this God you worship, because
there are a few things you really need to know.
Firstly, this God does not need you to build Him a Temple,
because He built the whole world and everything in it.
Secondly, He does not need you to give Him things, because He
gave you everything you have: every breath in your body comes from
Him.
Thirdly, and this is the incredible verse 26, this God made
from one man every nation on the earth. We are all brothers.
- Them and Us
People have always divided the human race into two groups: them
and us. Who is them and who is us varies with place, time and
context, but it is always there.
Did anyone see 'The Godfather' on Thursday night? You could
see it so clearly there: the 'us' that matters is family.
Throughout history, there has always been a them and us. Friends
and enemies. You help your friends and fight your enemies.
This is one of the key issues that set the early Christians
apart from every other group, that set Christianity apart from
every religion and every ideology on the face of the planet.
Everyone else said: we care for our own. The Christians said: we
care for everyone.
For God so loved... His favourites? ...the nice people?
...the good people? No! He so loved the world, the whole world,
that He sent His only begotten Son.
Jesus came and He did basically two things: He healed the sick
and He preached the gospel. For Him, there was no conflict
between the two. He met people: bodies and spirits together. He
cared for everyone, and He cared for the whole person.
For a Christian, there is no 'them', only 'us'. This does not
mean, of course, that we have to treat everybody the same. We
have greater responsibilities to care for the people who are
closest to us. There are circles of caring - spouse, family,
friends, countrymen, everyone. The circle encompasses the whole
human race.
As Paul says in Galatians, "as we have opportunity, let us do
good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family
of believers" (Galatians 6:10). This attitude persisted through
the early church. One Roman writer was very peeved with the early
Christians because they 'not only feed their own poor, they feed
ours also'!
Through the centuries, the church has failed miserably in many
ways, but the Spirit keeps on dragging us back to these two basic
necessities: to care for peoples' bodies, and to care for their
souls. Most of the charities working to relieve poverty and
distress across the world have their origins in the Christian
faith. Other groups set up charities to care for their own
problems or their kind of people. Christians, many of them, set
up charities to care for anyone.
- Responding to a Beggar
- The Problem
So, when you are confronted with a beggar in the street, what
do you do?
The one thing you can't do is to pretend that their situation
is nothing to do with you. You cannot pretend that you have no
obligation, no responsibility.
- The Options
What should you do when you come across somebody begging in the
street? There are only a few options.
Give them some money. But you know where the money will
go. Yes, they probably are hungry. But the desire for a fix is
stronger than the hunger for food. A warm drink will do them some
good, but alcohol will blot out the pain for a while. I know some
Christians say you should give money because firstly that means
they won't have to steal to get the cash they need, and secondly
what they do with the money is not your responsibility.
Personally, I do not believe it is moral to give people yet more
of the stuff that is killing their bodies and destroying their
minds.
Pretend you haven't seen them. It is possibly the
easiest option - you walk past and pretend that you didn't see or
hear them. After all, I can't help everyone. But, as you walk
past, you probably feel fairly sure it's not what Jesus would have
done.
Turn down the request. The most honest approach: look
them in the eye and say no. "I don't give to people on the
street. I don't believe you will buy a hamburger or coffee if I
give you some money." But once you start talking, it is so much
harder, and they can give you really good reasons why they really
need some money now, and what will happen if they don't get it.
Sometimes, it is the right thing to do. You cannot respond to
every need, you cannot help every individual you meet. Even Jesus
couldn't help everyone. But you can't refuse to help everyone you
meet and still claim to be following Jesus. Jesus may not have
helped everyone, but He didn't just say 'no' either.
Offer to help. If you have the time, you can offer to buy them something. If they say they are hungry, get them something to eat. Spend some time with them, talk with them, tell them there is hope - that God cares for them, and other people are willing to help them. But perhaps you don't know who can help, or have the addresses and phone numbers you need. There is another option for you
Give something useful. What I can suggest to you is a
meal voucher. It costs you a pound, and entitles them to a hot
meal costing a pound in our Coffee Shop. We will provide a hot
meal, and have volunteers ready to talk with our customers. If
they are willing to be helped, we have the addresses and phone
numbers to hand. We are there to help people move on from the
street, and to access the help they need, when they are ready to
receive it.
- Some Final Thoughts
God is there. When you encounter someone - a beggar on
the street, a non-Christian at your work place, a needy person in
your family, anyone! - remember that God is already in the
situation. You don't need to do anything to turn it into a
situation He can use. All you have to do is understand what He
wants to do, how He wants to bless the other person through you,
and cooperate with Him in what He wants to do.
Don't do it on your own. Don't try to do anything without
God's involvement, and don't try without support from other
people. We are not built to help needy people on our own. We need
emotional support, we need advice, we need people to talk to, we
need to benefit from the knowledge, experience and wisdom other
people can offer.
Remember to pray. If you care about these things, then
pray. Pray for the Crisis Centre and all those working with
homeless people. Pray about getting involved in a practical way
yourself. After all, you need to do something.
One option is to do some volunteering. There are many different
and vital jobs volunteers can do. Almost anything you can offer
can be a blessing to some group or organisation.
Another possibility I urge you to consider is some form of
political activity. Christians - some Christians! - must get
involved in party politics. If we leave leadership in our society
and the establishment of new laws to ungodly people, we will find
ourselves going in an ungodly direction with ungodly laws.
Involvement in the political parties is the only way if Christians
are to act as salt and light as God intends.
And, finally, follow Jesus. He had a mission to
establish God's Kingdom and to destroy the Devil's works. If we
follow Him - if we really follow Him - then that, too, is our
mission. He cared for people in very practical ways: if we want to
follow Him, we must do the same. The question is not whether we
will get involved, but how.