Jesus says “when you give alms,” not “if you give”; what would have to change in a modern Christian’s budget, calendar, and sense of “normal discipleship” for almsgiving to be as assumed as prayer and fasting?
Another way to ask: Jesus says “when you give,” not “if you give.” What would need to change in a Christian’s money, schedule, and idea of “normal discipleship” for giving to the poor to be as expected as prayer and fasting?
Direct Answer
The transcript suggests almsgiving should be built into ordinary Christian life—planned, expected, and regular—rather than occasional or optional.
Support from Transcript:
Bercot highlights Jesus’ wording: “He didn’t say if you give alms… He said when you do it,” putting it alongside “praying” and “fasting.”
He says what’s “been lost so much in today’s church is the importance of alms giving,” even the word itself feels foreign or “Catholic.”
He connects it to Jesus’ Judgment Day teaching in Matthew 25—acts like “clothing the naked, feeding the hungry… visiting someone in prison.”
He quotes Jesus in Luke: “give alms… then indeed all things are clean to you,” showing Jesus attached major spiritual weight to it.
Early Christians, he says, emphasized it strongly and practiced it as a normal part of church life.
Discussion Follow-ups
If almsgiving is “normal,” what line items would need to shrink so giving can become routine? What would it look like if a church budget prioritized direct help over comfort and image?
