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"Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbor, 'Come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you' when you already have it with you." (Proverbs 3:27-28)
Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered. (Proverbs 21:13)
Thus says the Lord: Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word, and say: Hear the word of the Lord, O King of Judah sitting on the throne of David—you, and your servants, and your people who enter these gates. Thus says the Lord: Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place. (Jeremiah 22:1-3)
“But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine” (Ps. 33:18–19)
Jesus tells us: “‘Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:40).
“The destruction of one innocent life is like the destruction of the whole of humanity and the saving of one life is like the saving of the whole of humanity.” (Qu’ran 5:32)
“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:9)
"Whoever destroys a soul, it is considered as if he destroyed an entire world. And whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world." (Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5; Babylonian Talmud Tractate Sanhedrin 37a)
“Let all who thirst go to the water!” Isaiah (55:1)
"You are not required to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it." ‐Pirkei Avot 2:21
"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ (Matthew 25:35‐40)
"The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein." (Psalm 24:1‐2)
"In a place where no one is human, one should strive to be human." (Pirkei Avot 2:5)
The ancient rabbinic text, the Mishnah, states: “A single man was created in the world, to teach that if any man has caused a single soul to perish, scripture imputes it to him as if he had caused a whole world to perish, and if any man saves alive a single soul, scripture imputes it to him as if he had saved alive a whole world...”
Similarly in the Qu’ran, “the destruction of one innocent life is like the destruction of the whole of humanity and the saving of one life is like the saving of the whole of humanity.” (Al‐Ma’idah ”the Tablespread” 5:32)
In Exodus 12:49, biblical legislation mandates that there be one law for the home born and the stranger. These laws and teachings spell out the rights of the poor, the orphan, the widow and the stranger, who share a common bond. All of them lack a protector that can stand up for them and therefore the law intervenes. And the guarantee is God.
Amos is the first prophet to claim that social injustice will bring about not individual punishment, but national ruination. This is a revolutionary idea: that the value and destiny of the nation is dependent upon how it treats its most vulnerable members. No longer was it enough to engage in sacrifice to be right with God; and no longer was punishment to be meted out only to the individual. Amos is the first of a line of prophets who view the exploitation of the poor and destitute as a crime equivalent to idolatry. A crime against God.
“...let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream.” (Amos 5:24)
God is “sanctified through righteousness” (Isaiah 5:16)
“‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the LORD your God.’” (Leviticus 19:9)
“O you who believe, stand up firmly for justice as witnesses to Almighty God” (Qu’ran, al‐Nisa “The Women” 4:135)
Says Jesus, “love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12)
“When thou seest the naked, that thou cover him, and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh.” (Isaiah 58)
“He [King Josiah] defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?” declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 22:16)
“Not one of you truly believes until you wish for others what you wish for yourself.” (The Prophet Muhammad, Hadith)
We affirm and promote respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. (Unitarian principle)
“In everything, do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 7:12)
“What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. This is the whole Torah; all the rest is commentary. Go and learn it. (Hillel, Talmud, Shabbath 31a)
“By the breath of children, God sustains the world.” (Talmud Bavli, Shabbat 119b)
“Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you...” (Matthew 5:42)
“Have you ever seen a human being who contradicts the essence of the religion? That is the person who pushes the orphan aside and does not promote feeding the needy.” (Qur’an 107)
“...faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” (James 2:17)
“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” (Isaiah 58:10)
“If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.” (Proverbs 28:27)
“Whoever gives to the poor will not want, but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse.” (Luke 3:11)
“And he answered them, ‘Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.’” (James 2:14‐18)
“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. (James)
“Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him.” (1 John 3:17‐18)
“But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” (Matthew 14:15‐21)
“Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.” Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.”
“She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy.” (John 6:35)
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” (Romans 12:20)
To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” (Matthew 25:37‐40)
Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ (Proverbs 22:9)
“Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor.” (Matthew 25:34‐46)
Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? (Luke 9:13)
“Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” John 6:55‐59
“For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn.” (Nehemiah 5:1‐19)
“Now there arose a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers. For there were those who said, “With our sons and our daughters, we are many. So let us get grain, that we may eat and keep alive.” There were also those who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses to get grain because of the famine.” And there were those who said, “We have borrowed money for the king's tax on our fields and our vineyards. Now our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers, our children are as their children. Yet we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but it is not in our power to help it, for other men have our fields and our vineyards.” (2 Kings 4:43)
“But his servant said, ‘How can I set this before a hundred men?” So he repeated, “Give them to the men, that they may eat, for thus says the Lord, ‘They shall eat and have some left.’” (Luke 12:20)
“But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’” (Luke 9:51‐62)
“When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But he turned and rebuked them.”
A rabbinic tale...
Two neighbors, both wealthy landowners, began to make improvements on their land. But each began to dig up parts of the other’s parcel with their workers trespassing on each other’s land. One day they confronted each other asking who had given them permission to dig up the other’s land.
"Your land?" each neighbor asked with evident surprise.
"You are mistaken, my friend," said the other neighbor, "this land is mine."
"You are the one mistaken. It's mine," replied the other.
As the landowners were about to come to blows, an overseer stepped forward and declared that only a rabbi could resolve such a legal dispute. After each man presented his case, the Rabbi suddenly put his ear to the ground. The two glanced uneasily at each, other afraid to show disrespect to the distinguished rabbi, but unable to comprehend what he was doing.
Suddenly the Rabbi stood up and spoke: "I have given the two of you the opportunity to state your claims to this piece of land, but then I listened to what the ground has to say for itself. "The ground finds it amusing that the two of you are having such a heated argument over who it belongs to, because it told me that you both belong to it."
Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered. (Proverbs 21:13)
Thus says the Lord: Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word, and say: Hear the word of the Lord, O King of Judah sitting on the throne of David—you, and your servants, and your people who enter these gates. Thus says the Lord: Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place. (Jeremiah 22:1-3)
“But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine” (Ps. 33:18–19)
Jesus tells us: “‘Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:40).
“The destruction of one innocent life is like the destruction of the whole of humanity and the saving of one life is like the saving of the whole of humanity.” (Qu’ran 5:32)
“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:9)
"Whoever destroys a soul, it is considered as if he destroyed an entire world. And whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world." (Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5; Babylonian Talmud Tractate Sanhedrin 37a)
“Let all who thirst go to the water!” Isaiah (55:1)
"You are not required to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it." ‐Pirkei Avot 2:21
"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ (Matthew 25:35‐40)
"The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein." (Psalm 24:1‐2)
"In a place where no one is human, one should strive to be human." (Pirkei Avot 2:5)
The ancient rabbinic text, the Mishnah, states: “A single man was created in the world, to teach that if any man has caused a single soul to perish, scripture imputes it to him as if he had caused a whole world to perish, and if any man saves alive a single soul, scripture imputes it to him as if he had saved alive a whole world...”
Similarly in the Qu’ran, “the destruction of one innocent life is like the destruction of the whole of humanity and the saving of one life is like the saving of the whole of humanity.” (Al‐Ma’idah ”the Tablespread” 5:32)
In Exodus 12:49, biblical legislation mandates that there be one law for the home born and the stranger. These laws and teachings spell out the rights of the poor, the orphan, the widow and the stranger, who share a common bond. All of them lack a protector that can stand up for them and therefore the law intervenes. And the guarantee is God.
Amos is the first prophet to claim that social injustice will bring about not individual punishment, but national ruination. This is a revolutionary idea: that the value and destiny of the nation is dependent upon how it treats its most vulnerable members. No longer was it enough to engage in sacrifice to be right with God; and no longer was punishment to be meted out only to the individual. Amos is the first of a line of prophets who view the exploitation of the poor and destitute as a crime equivalent to idolatry. A crime against God.
“...let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream.” (Amos 5:24)
God is “sanctified through righteousness” (Isaiah 5:16)
“‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the LORD your God.’” (Leviticus 19:9)
“O you who believe, stand up firmly for justice as witnesses to Almighty God” (Qu’ran, al‐Nisa “The Women” 4:135)
Says Jesus, “love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12)
“When thou seest the naked, that thou cover him, and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh.” (Isaiah 58)
“He [King Josiah] defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?” declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 22:16)
“Not one of you truly believes until you wish for others what you wish for yourself.” (The Prophet Muhammad, Hadith)
We affirm and promote respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. (Unitarian principle)
“In everything, do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 7:12)
“What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. This is the whole Torah; all the rest is commentary. Go and learn it. (Hillel, Talmud, Shabbath 31a)
“By the breath of children, God sustains the world.” (Talmud Bavli, Shabbat 119b)
“Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you...” (Matthew 5:42)
“Have you ever seen a human being who contradicts the essence of the religion? That is the person who pushes the orphan aside and does not promote feeding the needy.” (Qur’an 107)
“...faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” (James 2:17)
“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” (Isaiah 58:10)
“If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.” (Proverbs 28:27)
“Whoever gives to the poor will not want, but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse.” (Luke 3:11)
“And he answered them, ‘Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.’” (James 2:14‐18)
“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. (James)
“Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him.” (1 John 3:17‐18)
“But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” (Matthew 14:15‐21)
“Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.” Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.”
“She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy.” (John 6:35)
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” (Romans 12:20)
To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” (Matthew 25:37‐40)
Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ (Proverbs 22:9)
“Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor.” (Matthew 25:34‐46)
Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? (Luke 9:13)
“Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” John 6:55‐59
“For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn.” (Nehemiah 5:1‐19)
“Now there arose a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers. For there were those who said, “With our sons and our daughters, we are many. So let us get grain, that we may eat and keep alive.” There were also those who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses to get grain because of the famine.” And there were those who said, “We have borrowed money for the king's tax on our fields and our vineyards. Now our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers, our children are as their children. Yet we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but it is not in our power to help it, for other men have our fields and our vineyards.” (2 Kings 4:43)
“But his servant said, ‘How can I set this before a hundred men?” So he repeated, “Give them to the men, that they may eat, for thus says the Lord, ‘They shall eat and have some left.’” (Luke 12:20)
“But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’” (Luke 9:51‐62)
“When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But he turned and rebuked them.”
A rabbinic tale...
Two neighbors, both wealthy landowners, began to make improvements on their land. But each began to dig up parts of the other’s parcel with their workers trespassing on each other’s land. One day they confronted each other asking who had given them permission to dig up the other’s land.
"Your land?" each neighbor asked with evident surprise.
"You are mistaken, my friend," said the other neighbor, "this land is mine."
"You are the one mistaken. It's mine," replied the other.
As the landowners were about to come to blows, an overseer stepped forward and declared that only a rabbi could resolve such a legal dispute. After each man presented his case, the Rabbi suddenly put his ear to the ground. The two glanced uneasily at each, other afraid to show disrespect to the distinguished rabbi, but unable to comprehend what he was doing.
Suddenly the Rabbi stood up and spoke: "I have given the two of you the opportunity to state your claims to this piece of land, but then I listened to what the ground has to say for itself. "The ground finds it amusing that the two of you are having such a heated argument over who it belongs to, because it told me that you both belong to it."
