I’m preaching from Matthew 11:2-11 this week. It’s one of the lectionary texts for Advent. I remembered this quote from Bono who was preaching speaking at the NAACP Awards in 2008. I generally love U2 and I think Bono is amazing. His theology is far from perfect (but so is yours and mine) but I think Bono generally understands God’s concern for the poor. You can watch the speech on YouTube, the quote I’m using below starts at 2:49 and goes till the end.
True religion will not let us fall asleep in the comfort of our freedom.
Love thy neighbor is not a piece of advice it’s a command.
And that means in the global village that we’re going to have to start loving a whole lot more people, that’s what that means… his truth is marching on…
…because where you live should not decide whether you live or whether you die.
And to those in the church who still stand in judgement on the AIDS emergency, let me climb into the pulpit for just one moment, because whatever thoughts we have about God or who he is or whether He even exists, most will agree that God has a special place for the poor.
The poor are where God lives.
God is in the slums in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house.
God is where the opportunity is lost where lives are shattered.
God is with the mother who has infected the child that will take both of their lives.
God is under the rubble and the cries we hear during war time.
God, my friends, is with the poor and god is with us if we are with them.
This is not a burden this is an adventure and don’t let anyone tell you that it cannot be done.
We can be the generation that ends extreme poverty.