Proper 11 / Pentecost 9 / Ordinary Time 16
Devotional
Water From the Rock
Lectionary Devotional for Cycle C
Object:
See the one who would not take refuge in God, but trusted in abundant riches, and sought refuge in wealth!
-- Psalm 52:7
Our society is engaged in a massive debate over what you can really trust for your future. In the last fifty years, the affluence of this nation has expanded exponentially. While a large proportion of our society is active to some degree in religious activities, there is an increasing attitude of neglect for the poor and the needy. We resist the thought that our corporate responsibility could be exercised through government programs that we would pay for through taxation. At the same time, we use our affluence to create a life that is protected from contact with the most needy of our society. When the psalmist spoke of the godly, the author was often referring to the poor and the vulnerable whose lives were clearly dependent upon God. The most vulnerable of our society are under no illusion that they can take care of themselves.
The psalmist recognized that the most devastating weapon that anyone had was a deceitful tongue and words that devour. We can witness the debate of words that try to protect us from the suffering of the vulnerable. The psalmist could be speaking of much of our society's debate about the poor when he said, "You love evil more than good, and lying more than speaking the truth. You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue." Much of our talk of compassion begins with the premise that the wealthy must guard their wealth against those who would like to take it from them.
It is rarely heard that those who have abundance have a responsibility to use it in a way that benefits the most vulnerable of our society. There is little apparent fear that "God will break you down forever; he will snatch and tear you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living." In the end, as a society, we have chosen that which we believe we can most trust for our future, and it is not God.
-- Psalm 52:7
Our society is engaged in a massive debate over what you can really trust for your future. In the last fifty years, the affluence of this nation has expanded exponentially. While a large proportion of our society is active to some degree in religious activities, there is an increasing attitude of neglect for the poor and the needy. We resist the thought that our corporate responsibility could be exercised through government programs that we would pay for through taxation. At the same time, we use our affluence to create a life that is protected from contact with the most needy of our society. When the psalmist spoke of the godly, the author was often referring to the poor and the vulnerable whose lives were clearly dependent upon God. The most vulnerable of our society are under no illusion that they can take care of themselves.
The psalmist recognized that the most devastating weapon that anyone had was a deceitful tongue and words that devour. We can witness the debate of words that try to protect us from the suffering of the vulnerable. The psalmist could be speaking of much of our society's debate about the poor when he said, "You love evil more than good, and lying more than speaking the truth. You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue." Much of our talk of compassion begins with the premise that the wealthy must guard their wealth against those who would like to take it from them.
It is rarely heard that those who have abundance have a responsibility to use it in a way that benefits the most vulnerable of our society. There is little apparent fear that "God will break you down forever; he will snatch and tear you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living." In the end, as a society, we have chosen that which we believe we can most trust for our future, and it is not God.
