Sharing in the Needs of the Saints, Given to Hospitality
Sharing in the Needs of the Saints
Given to Hospitality
“Sharing in the needs of the saints, given to hospitality” (Romans 12:13).
One of the beautiful things in Scripture is that the poor are called saints.
It does not say “sharing in the needs of the poor,” but rather “in the needs of the saints.” Likewise, in speaking about the virtuous woman who is accepted as a widow in the Church, it says that she has “lodged strangers, washed the saints’ feet, relieved the afflicted” (1 Timothy 5:10), at least on the basis that all these are believers who are called saints (Romans 1:7).
There was a phrase well known in the apostolic era and the era of the martyrs: “If you have nothing to give to these saints, then fast and give them your food.”
When the Lord Christ spoke about the needs of these people, He considered them as His very own person, saying: “For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me” (Matthew 25:35–36). He explained this by saying: “Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:40).
Thus He called them His brethren. Therefore, we say of the poor that they are “the brethren of the Lord.” When you share in helping these poor people in their needs, you are as one who serves the Lord Christ Himself, and whatever you give them, you are giving it to Christ Himself.
Accordingly, we should give to the poor with respect, not with contempt. And our giving to them should be the result of our love for them. You love these people; therefore, you share in their needs. Giving is not an independent virtue that stands on its own, but it proceeds from love. Giving without love is not the spiritual giving that Christianity teaches us.
Notice the gentle expression in the phrase “sharing in the needs of the saints.”
It did not call it charity or almsgiving, but rather sharing—partnership.
The poor person has a legitimate share in your money, at least the tithe. When you give to him, you are giving him from his rightful due as a partner. And when you give to him, you give on the basis that you and he are partners in one body, the Body of Christ, and that you are together members in it. It is a fellowship of sonship to God and a fellowship of membership in the one Church.
The phrase “sharing in the needs of the saints” may also be taken in another sense. It can apply, for example, to monks. Monks are saints, and they are poor, having vowed poverty. Whatever is offered to them or to monasteries is a sharing in the needs of the saints, especially poor monasteries, or monasteries that require expenditures, or whose expenses exceed their income.
In ancient times, monasteries had no endowments, and monks lived on the love of their brethren in the world or on the work of their own hands. We used to hear of lay leaders who would build places in monasteries, sharing in building cells or walls, or sending food to the monks. Among the monasteries that currently have no endowments or property are the convents of nuns.
The phrase “sharing in the needs of the saints” can also include all those who work in the Lord’s vineyard, from the clergy and all other servants. Linguistically, the word “saint” means one who is set apart or dedicated to the Lord. The clergy and servants have been set apart to serve the Lord (Acts 13:2). Scripture says: “Do you not know that those who minister in the holy things eat of the things of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar? Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:13–14).
The apostles, servants of the word, were sent by the Lord “without a money bag or knapsack” (Luke 22:35), “for a worker is worthy of his food” (Matthew 10:10). Thus the believers shared in the needs of these saints.
Included also in “the needs of the saints” is the service of villages. Servants who minister in villages, who travel to visit their brethren, and who spend on travel and on the needs of ministry such as visual aids, pictures, gifts, and the like, undoubtedly need expenses that fall under “the needs of the saints.” It is enough that God has granted them the gift of the ministry of the word; those who do not minister the word should support those who do.
This field also includes those who serve in missionary work. For example, service in central and southern Africa—those who went out for evangelism without money bag or knapsack, to establish churches in Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Tanzania, Congo, Namibia, and South Africa. Is it not our duty to share together in the needs of these saints so that the service may continue, churches may be built, and expenses may be covered for them and their servants?
What we say about evangelism in Africa, we also say about Brazil and others. The Apostle urges you to share in “the needs of the saints”: the needs of evangelism for purchasing land and properties, building churches and meeting places, paying the salaries of priests and deacons, purchasing vehicles for pastoral visits, building hospitals or clinics to serve the sick, and also providing what is necessary for social service in those distant, poor regions.
I know that you rejoice in the extension of the service and evangelism and the establishment of churches. But I ask: what have you offered to share in the needs of the saints?
I know very well that God provides for His service. My call to you is only to share in receiving the blessing by contributing to good works. God could have built the temple by His own riches and by opening the windows of heaven, but He willed that the people should share in the expenses, saying to the Lord: “All things come from You, and of Your own we have given You” (1 Chronicles 29:14). And the people rejoiced in what they offered.
The phrase “sharing in the needs of the saints” also includes poor churches. There are rich churches whose income exceeds their needs and who spend the surplus on many projects and on beautifying and decorating the church. Meanwhile, other churches are poor and do not find what covers their essential needs. Rich churches should share in the needs of the poor ones, or at least lift some of their burdens, such as supporting their poor members or providing some of the needs of ministry.
What we say about churches, we also say about dioceses, so that a rich diocese shares in the needs of a poor diocese.
The same commandment applies to the needs of modest families and those who have no one to remember them. There are modest families whose income barely suffices, but they may fall into severe financial distress with no way out, such as when a family member becomes ill with a disease that requires money beyond their capacity, or needs a surgical operation costing thousands. They have no option but to knock on the doors of the capable and the beloved, supported by the Apostle’s words: “sharing in the needs of the saints,” even through a loan that is not required to be repaid.
This also applies to cases of marriage and its many expenses, to cases of seeking housing, to sudden disasters that were not planned for, and to some cases of death preceded by a long, serious illness that drained all the family’s resources and perhaps left them in debt.
The commandment also applies to cases of the disabled: whether the needs of the blind for learning to read and write in Braille, or the need of blind students for recording devices to record lectures, or the need to facilitate transportation; likewise those with physical disabilities who need prosthetic devices, or the mentally disabled who need care and patience; also the deaf and mute, and their need to learn means of communication. All these need either individual care or the care of organizations.
Regarding organizational care, the word “sharing” is used. Acts of mercy that you cannot perform alone can be done by contributing together with others. Thus charitable societies exist, each with a specific mission. Likewise, church charity committees and charitable projects carried out by specialized organizations, such as associations caring for tuberculosis patients, leprosy patients, cancer patients, or patients with incurable diseases such as liver or kidney failure, and others.
All these wide fields cannot be carried out by one individual, but by a group of lovers of goodness and of others—“sharing in the needs of the saints.”
The important thing is that we do not wait until people come to us presenting their needs, but that we have the sensitivity to perceive these needs and offer help proactively. These needs may be spiritual or pastoral, such as the needs of those living abroad in foreign countries where they find no church and no priest to care for them, so that they may remain steadfast in their faith and doctrine and in a sound spiritual life without deviation.
There remains the second part of the commandment, which is hospitality to strangers.
May we speak about it in the next issue, if the grace of the Lord wills and we live.
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