Bishop Crispian has invited all the parishes of the Diocese to sign a covenant with the poor, preferably in the season of Pentecost.

'Signing a covenant' can be taken literally or metaphorically. Rather than a swirl of handwriting, it might be better to think along the lines of today's First Reading: "Deep within them I will plant my Law, writing it on their hearts." In other words, an attitude of mind, rather than a piece of paper. I hesitate to say it in the land that produced Magna Carta, but the multitude of charters we have nowadays is not necessarily a good thing: they can suggest that all the problems are already solved, and when they are not kept, they lead - as we see from the example of America, to an endless succession of lawsuits.

A Christian attitude to the poor must be based not on help inspired by guilt or a wish to patronise, but on a genuine recognition that the poor are our brothers and sisters. To hold that conviction requires the Pentecost gift of the Holy Spirit.

We must remember, also, that it takes two to sign a covenant. Only God can make a 'one-sided' covenant. If we are to make a covenant with the poor, they have to make a covenant with us. We can't presume they actually want to! If we are not poor ourselves, it is very difficult to know how the poor feel about us. Do they resent our having more than we need? Do they pity us? Do they feel humiliated by offers of help? Those who have lost their job, or have had their home repossessed, say what a devastating experience it can be. Sometimes they can hardly look 'normal' people in the eye. Every charitable gesture or word directed at them can seem a put-down.

The Bible tells us little of how the poor dialogue among themselves. An exception is the story of Ruth and her daughter-in-law Naomi, people who have lost everything. All Naomi can offer Ruth is the bond of fidelity: "Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God" (Ruth 1: 16).

For our part, if we are to covenant faithfully with the poor, we will have to listen to them, humbly and openly. DS