Emphasis Preaching Journal

Jesus seems to favor the poor in this parable. This lines up with the insights of the father of black liberation theology James Cone, who says that Jesus reveals "he is the God of and for those who labor and are heavy laden" (A Black Theology of Liberation, pp. 7-8). Most of us do not want to hear this. Harvard economist Edward Glaaeser has found that 60% of Americans believe that the poor are lazy (A World of Difference). Social analyst Alvin Toffler makes clear why we tend to bash the poor. The impoverished call into question the American Dream and our dualism about America, so we think their problems must be their fault (Powershift, p. 358). The hard facts are, though, that the poor or heavy laden are Jesus' best allies -- always have been. A 2010 Gallup poll indicated that while 43.1% of Americans report regular worship attendance, 55% of non-Hispanic blacks worship weekly. Martin Luther and his namesake Martin Luther King Jr. recognized the deep religiosity of the poor and the objects of discrimination: "The poor, miserable sinners, the downcast, the wanderers, the despised, the little people, and the unlearned accept him [Christ] joyfully and gladly" (Luther's Works, Vol. 14, p. 96).

A voice out of Bethlehem 2,000 years ago said that all men are equal. It said right would triumph. Jesus of Nazareth wrote no book; he owned no property to endow him with influence. He had no friends in the courts of the powerful. But he changed the course of humankind with only the poor and the despised (A Testament of Hope, p. 328).

The data bear out the advice given in the third century by famed North African bishop Cyprian of Carthage: Christians will want to be sure that their "care... and... diligence not be wanting to the poor" (Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 5, p. 315).