What made the early church such an amazing witness when they first began was their care for the least of these—those marginalized, oppressed, and frustrated by their culture. And that remains one of the common practice of the church across the world: to give care and attention to those who are least in our culture and society.
Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word. And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioche. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing wonders and signs among the people… Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius). So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabus and Saul. — Acts 6:1-8, 11:27-30
Did you catch that?
A dispute arose because certain widows were being left out of the food distribution—and the early church deemed it necessary to set aside people to ensure that those who were vulnerable were seen and taken care of. Not only that, the church set aside money to send relief to those in a time of famine.
And why does the church do this?
The church does it because it reminds us that we too were the least of these, and in our time of need God reached out to us and spoke to us through his Son Jesus. So how do we do this? We offer ongoing care: we thoughtfully and intentionally plan how we can participate in the art and act of giving and caring for those who are least or underprivileged in our society. But we can also give care as the opportunities, in one-time care—ready to give as needed and as we are able in moments that we may not have planned for, but that God has brought to our attention.
“Christianity is flourishing wonderfully among the poor and persecuted while I atrophy among the rich and secure.”
— Philip Jenkins
The reward for us is that as we partake in this common practice of caring for the least of these, we will encounter and meet Jesus in the unlikeliest of places, in the unlikeliest of moments—and in those times we will find that we, too, are in need of God’s care for us as well.
So how do we care for the least of these?
Jesus gives two clear commands to his disciples: first, to “bring in the poor”:
Then Jesus said to his host, ‘When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’ (Luke 14:12-14)
So some questions to help guide you as you seek to be obedient to his commandments:
- Who can I love on, serve, and give to without the possibility of receiving anything back? (Perhaps a better question is: who could I care for without any possibility of reimbursement?)
- Keep your eyes open as you go to work, the grocery store, as you go out and about. Who are the ones that no one is making eye contact with? How can you be generous and kind to them without enabling? For instance, those who are experienced with those who live outdoors often recommend stocking up on water, socks, blankets, or other necessities for those who live outdoors.
- Serve somewhere and give freely of your time to efforts that benefit those in society who are the “least of these” in your area.
He also instructs his disciples to not despise the little ones:
“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.”
- Pray and ask God to give you the faces of children in your life you can bless. How can you make them feel seen, heard, and appreciated?
- Look into volunteering for Safe Families, an effort facilitated by the Orphan Care team at EKKO—you can either serve as a Host Family and offer respite care for parents who need help, or you can serve as a Family Friend and offer tangible help to Host Families who are hosting children.
For more discussion and behind the scenes of this sermon in the Common Series, listen to our new podcast: The Common Podcast. We upload new episodes every Wednesday! Stay tuned as we continue to learn the Common practices that keep us united as Christ-followers.