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Being With
Speaker: Pastor Jesse Sudirgo
Scripture: Deuteronomy 15:1-5, 7-11
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1. Idealism and Realism
The Year for Canceling Debts
1 At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts.
2 This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel any loan they have made to a fellow Israelite. They shall not require payment from anyone among their own people, because the LORD’s time for canceling debts has been proclaimed.
3 You may require payment from a foreigner, but you must cancel any debt your fellow Israelite owes you.
4 However, there need be no poor people among you, for in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you,
5 if only you fully obey the LORD your God and are careful to follow all these commands I am giving you today.
6 For the LORD your God will bless you as he has promised, and you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations but none will rule over you.
7 If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them.
8 Rather, be openhanded and freely lend them whatever they need.
9 Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: “The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near,” so that you do not show ill will toward the needy among your fellow Israelites and give them nothing. They may then appeal to the LORD against you, and you will be found guilty of sin.
10 Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.
11 There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.
—Deuteronomy 15:1-11
God’s law calls for both idealism and realism:
“There need be no poor among you” (v.4) a vision of justice and abundance.
“There will always be poor in the land” (v.11) a recognition of ongoing human need.
Idealism grounded in the eschatological hope, Realism grounded in an unreasonable grace
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2. Moving from Doing for to Being with
(Based on Samuel Wells)
There are different ways to engage in God’s mission:
• Working for – Doing things on behalf of others.
• Working with – Partnering alongside others.
• Being for – Advocating for change at a larger scale.
• Being with – Sharing life, presence, and relationship.
“Being with” shifts our focus from outcomes to relationship. It is not about fixing others but about entering their experience and walking with them in mutual trust.
“Being with is not about finding solutions, but about companionship amid struggle and distress.”
—Samuel Wells
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3. Faithful Presence and Proximity
God’s call to love the poor is not fulfilled from a distance. It happens through presence, proximity, and participation.
Henri Nouwen reminds us that compassion requires entering another’s pain:
“No one can help anyone without becoming involved, without taking the risk of being hurt, wounded, or even destroyed in the process.”
—Henri Nouwen
We meet Christ when we draw near to those who suffer. Transformation happens not through power, but through presence.
