October 25 1999

ARTICLE TOOLS

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From him who was rich beyond all measure but became poor for your sake.

You must never succumb to the notion that Christianity in its earliest and purest expression was addressed to the affluent, the well-situated, the so-called movers and shakers of the society.

The Christian faith has been appropriated and tailored by the privileged. This is not all bad, since it is part of the inspired genius of the faith to fit all circumstances of the human condition. This ought not to obscure the truth that the Christian faith began among the disallowed and rejects of the empire of the Caesars, who lived in the back alleys of need and the ghettos of poverty in the cities and villages of the Greco-Roman world.

Therefore, you who preach to marginalized people, whether in the teeming cities of America or the poverty-stricken environs of Appalachia, must declare that the kingdoms of this world are not final and are not favored by God. I said it and you must preach it, "Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God." There fore, the Spirit of the Lord is upon you, as it was upon me, to preach the gospel to the poor. To do so is not to say that the privileged are shut out, since "with God all things are possible." Probable? That is another matter.

You must not forget that "he which hath the sharp sword with two edges" has "a few things against thee." The poor, those who are most easily exploited, are at the mercy of those who come in my name. This is because religious faith is so precious, and only precious things can be prostituted. You must never forget Simon the magician who wanted to mix the manifestation of the power of the Holy Spirit with the power of money. He was told that he was "in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of ...