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Poverty, None of the Church’s Business … !?: Exploring the Theological and Ethical Significance of John Howard Yoder’s Discourse on the Practice of the Lord’s Supper

Poverty, None of the Church's Business … !?: Exploring the Theological and Ethical Significance of John Howard Yoder's Discourse on the Practice of the Lord's Supper

Vincent CP LAU

The discourse on the Lord's Supper by John Howard Yoder in his Body Politics specifies that both spiritual and ethical significance is indispensable. The latter pertains to the sociological implications of the practice that Jesus' disciples are required to share their possessions with others who are in need . This is an embodiment of Yahweh's order of Jubilee: “there should not be any poor among you …” (Dt 15:4 NET). Such kind of sharing and provision of basic daily needs with one another is a mark of the messianic age . The ethical significance of the Lord's Supper is that the church is called to pay close attention to and provide relief for the needy people as a matter of course. There is thus no excuse for the church to ignore the needs of people around us. The care and love of Christians should not be confined to “insiders,” but also include “outsiders,” not only locally focused but also internationally concerned. The Jubilee 2000 Campaign and the Jubilee Debt Campaign can be regarded as an embodiment of the Christian faith. More importantly, it can serve as an alternative paradigm for global economic practice.
The purposes of this essay are to explore the theological and sociological connotations of the Lord's Supper of Yoder's discourse in his book and to explicate the ethical significance of the church derived from the Lord's Supper on the issue of poverty and the actions of poverty alleviation. The essay consists of four parts: Firstly, the theological concepts of Body Politics are introduced briefly. Secondly, the discourse on and the significance of the Lord's Supper discussed by Yoder are examined. Thirdly, the theological conceptual relationship among the Lord's Supper, Jubilee, and messiah is analyzed. Finally, the ethical significance of the Lord's Supper is scrutinized.

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Message from the Editor of Issue 48

Editor's Note: Wu Guojie Since the outbreak of the new coronavirus, the number of people infected worldwide has exceeded 250 million, and the number of deaths has exceeded 5 million. This number does not include poor third-world countries with weak testing capabilities and inability to determine the cause of death. Due to the epidemic, the lives, economy, and travel of people around the world have been affected to varying degrees; for example, people have to wear masks when going out, maintain social distance, the number of gatherings is limited, quarantine is required when entering the country, travel has been greatly reduced, related industries have laid off employees, and unemployment has Rates thus increase and so on. In this environment, church gatherings have also been affected to a considerable extent. During the period when the epidemic was severe and gatherings were restricted, physical church gatherings were suspended, and online live broadcasts and video conversations became necessary alternative modes; even if the epidemic eased and physical gatherings reopened, online Synchronization has also become the new normal. In the face of this disaster, which is called the "pandemic of the century," what resources does the Christian faith have that can help the church respond and turn the crisis into an opportunity? This issue of "Sandow Journal" takes "Epidemics and Disasters" as the theme, and brings together different scholars to discuss it from the perspectives of the two Testaments, doctrinal theology, and practical theology, hoping to enlighten modern Christians on how to deal with the challenges of this era. ...