I love our Emergency Relief ministry. As Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). As we have, hopefully, been a blessing to others, I know that ER has also been a blessing to us. It has provided an opportunity for care, service, and mercy ministry. ER has been, and continues to be, a wonderful service that Arawang and Anglicare have provided for many years.

Imagine all the people who have received a little of what they need because of the work that you, the faithful volunteers, do each and every week. It is truly wonderful.

As Jesus also taught, the way we treat people reflects the way we treat him:
“I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink… Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.” Conversely, a little earlier, Jesus said, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:31–46) While Jesus is clearly speaking of his people when he refers to “brothers and sisters”, the same principle extends more broadly. Take the parable of the Good Samaritan as an example. We are called “to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).

Jesus also said something that, in some ways, we might find surprising. In fulfilment of Isaiah, he said:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor” (Luke 4:18–19).How is the “good news”—the gospel of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection—good news for the poor? It is easy to argue that Jesus is referring to the spiritually poor: those who are bankrupt before God. This is absolutely true—not only for the poor, but for all of us. But is that all he means? I think he includes this, but he is saying more as well. In the Old Testament, the poor are often described as the widow, the orphan, and the foreigner. These are the vulnerable in the community. This triad appears repeatedly, particularly in Exodus and Deuteronomy. What do they have in common? Each represents relational loss and isolation. The widow has lost her husband and provider. The orphan has lost their parents. The foreigner has lost their people and place.

The gospel is good news for the poor because it addresses this relational isolation. Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection pave the way for peace with God, and people are brought into a new family—the church. The widow finds protection and relationship (though not necessarily romantic), the orphan finds parents, and the foreigner finds belonging.

I have personally experienced this in the churches I have attended and served. I have mums and dads, brothers and sisters all over the place—not least at Arawang. The gospel is beautiful.

Jesus said:
“Truly I tell you… no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age… and in the age to come eternal life” (Mark 10:29–31).

What this means is that we need to stretch ourselves—not only to provide food hampers, but also to offer relationships and connection to our clients on Monday mornings. We will begin providing tea, coffee, and perhaps even a biscuit, along with a safe place to chat. In time, we hope to host a Saturday or Sunday lunch for clients and volunteers so that we can foster deeper relationships.

Please keep an eye out for these opportunities in the near future.

Jesus is indeed good news for the poor, because any lasting response to poverty must include relationships—not only now, in the form of a new family, but also relationships that will last for eternity. So let’s share our food, but also our time and our ears, and build meaningful connections.

Keep an eye out for ways to be involved!