The Christian’s Vocation: A Life of Generous Care for the Poor
The life of charity and care for the poor is not an optional addition to the Christian vocation but the Christian vocation itself. One cannot separate one's actions towards those broken by want and violence from one's faith any more than one can separate the heart from the body and expect to live. It is impossible.
Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, recounts that the only request made of him and his fellow laborers by the other apostles was that they remember the poor—"the very thing we were eager to do" (Galatians 2:10). This statement is more than a mere footnote in Paul’s ministry; it reveals the heart of the Gospel's expression in the world. The proclamation of the Good News is not solely a matter of verbal testimony but is made visible in love, in service, and in tangible acts of mercy and justice. The care of the poor may provide an opening for further communication of the Gospel, but that is not its primary objective. Care for the poor is a proclamation of the Gospel, a visible witness to the reality of God's love in Christ.
This is why Jesus identifies himself with the least of these in Matthew 25:40: "As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me." The reality of Christ’s body received in the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper reinforces how we see Christ himself in the bodies and lives of those in prison, in want, sick, wounded, and distressed. Just as we recognize Christ truly present in the breaking of the bread and the sharing of the cup, so too must we recognize him truly present in the suffering of our neighbors. The world's pain must be met not only by our prayers and preaching but also by our actions of love, which offer Christ to all.
Charity as Worship: The True Leitourgia
Does your church take pride in its worship and liturgy? Do you boast in the beauty of your services, the eloquence of your prayers, the richness of your traditions? If so, then remember that in Scripture, leitourgia—the very word from which we derive 'liturgy'—is used not only to describe worship but also the collection for the needy, the care of the hungry, and the ministry to the broken (2 Corinthians 9:12). Paul describes acts of charity as a liturgy, a sacred service to God. In this sense, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and caring for the sick are as much acts of worship as lifting our voices in song or kneeling in prayer. To sever these from one another is to divide what God has joined together.
The prophet Isaiah issues a warning against empty worship that neglects justice: "Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps 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?" (Isaiah 58:6-7). Worship without love in action is an affront to the One we claim to adore. To ignore the poor is to ignore Christ himself.
My dear friend Gerritt Gustafson, a composer, author, and collater of hymnody, once met with Mother Teresa to talk with her about worship. He smiles when he recalls the conversation in which he hoped to impress on Mother Teresa and the Sisters the need to sing beautiful songs of praise to God. She pleasantly declined the offer, replying that singing did not play a large role in her worship. “What does worship mean to you, then?” Gerritt asked. “If you really want to worship,” she answered, “go out and serve the poor and sick, and care for those in need.”
The Mark of the Christian: Charity as Our Brand
Tertullian, the early Christian theologian, observed that charity was the brand—the slave mark—of the Christian. In ancient Rome, slaves bore a physical mark to show to whom they belonged. Tertullian, drawing on this custom, proclaimed that charity was the mark that identified a Christian as belonging to the true Master, Jesus Christ. In other words, love—expressed in concrete, sacrificial care for others—is the undeniable sign of genuine faith.
Jesus himself declared this truth unequivocally: "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35). Not by our doctrinal statements, not by our theological precision, not even by our religious rituals, but by our love. The love that flows from a life transformed by Christ is not theoretical; it is active. It is a love that feeds the hungry, shelters the homeless, visits the prisoner, and binds up the wounds of the brokenhearted. It is the love of the Good Samaritan, who does not pass by the wounded man but draws near, at great cost to himself, to care for him.
To be marked by charity is to belong to Christ. If we are his, we will love—not in word only but in deed. The Apostle John reinforces this in his epistle: "If anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth" (1 John 3:17-18). The love of God, when truly received, necessarily overflows into love for others.
A Witness to Christ in the World
When the Church lives out this love, it becomes a powerful witness to the reality of Christ and his saving work. The early Church grew not only because of its preaching but because of its radical love. The people of Rome were astonished at the Christians, exclaiming, "See how they love one another!" This love was not confined to their own communities but extended to the stranger, the outcast, the abandoned.
In our time, as in every age, the Church's credibility rests not only on the integrity of its institutions or its eloquent defenses of the faith but on the lived reality of Christ’s love in the world. If the Church is to bear authentic witness to Christ, it must be known not only for its creeds but for its compassion, not only for its worship but for its works of mercy.
The Call to Love in Action
As followers of Christ, we are called to take up this work with eagerness, just as Paul and the early apostles did. We do not care for the poor merely as a means to another end; we care for the poor because it is the very essence of the Gospel in action.
Let us, then, renew our commitment to this sacred calling. Let our churches be known for their love, not in word only but in deed. Let our lives bear witness to Christ by the way we care for the least among us. While we must always distinguish faith and works as instruments of justification before God, we must never separate them as root and fruit. We must never divorce faith from works, worship from service, or love for God from love for neighbor. And as we maintain this union, may the world see Christ in us —the One who came to seek and save the lost, who humbled himself for our sake, who took on flesh to dwell among us and to redeem us, not with gold or silver, but with his own precious blood.
If we are his, we will love. And by this love, by the sacred action of sacrificial care, the world will have one more witness to the reality of Christ and his saving work.