We,
the Ministries at Main Street call the church to BE THE CHURCH, caring for the
poor as Christ has instructed us:
Beginning
with the prophets spoke thousands of
years ago. Isaiah, offers us just one of
nearly 3000 biblical references of how we are to honor the poor, when he
writes,
“Will you call this a fast, a day
acceptable to
the LORD? Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break
every yoke? Is it not to share your
bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you
see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? Then
your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up
quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the LORD shall be
your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry
for help, and he will say, Here I am. (Isaiah 58.5c-9)
Ezekiel instructs us that the actual sin of
Sodom had nothing to do with sex, but rather,
"This was the guilt of your sister Sodom:
she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did
not aid the poor and needy." (Ezekiel 16.49)
And the prophet Zechariah wrote,
"Thus says the LORD of hosts: Render true
judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another; do not oppress the widow,
the orphan, the alien, or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts
against one another." (Zechariah 7.9-10)
The understanding of the early Church was,
"[The Galatian Church] asked only one
thing, that we remember the poor, which was actually what I was eager to
do." (Galatians 2.10)
And the teachings of Jesus within the Gospels
reveal,..
"You lack one thing; go, sell what you own,
give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come,
follow me." (Mark 10.21b, Matthew 19.21 & Luke 18.22b)
"When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do
not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors,
in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you
give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you
will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the
resurrection of the righteous." (Luke 14.12-14)
Jesus often rearticulated the law in order to
clarify its intent, as we rephrase this final passage, from Luke 6.20b
"All you who are poor, are a blessing to
us, bringing to us God’s desired government of mercy, love and His honor,
embodied in you, and we are called to be a blessing to you."
We,
the Ministries at Main Street, in honor of Christ’s call, wish to be light in
the world on His behalf, shining that light to all who are without friends, a
permanent place to live, and suffering loss; Inviting them to come and be fed
and offered a bed.
