Tuesday, August 31, 2021
The Hope of the Poor
Jeremiah has given us so much to process; he lays out before us a reason for righteous anger . . . and he also proposes that a new order is coming.
The ungodly have fallen into the pit they dug, and in the snare they set is their own foot caught.
Our own life experience tells us that the innocent suffer and the ungodly hold the upper hand.
The Lord is known by acts of justice; the wicked are trapped in the works of their own hands.
And our spiritual life tells us that we must leave judging and condemnation to God.
The wicked shall be given over to the grave, and also all the peoples who forget God.
Rather than preoccupy ourselves with the sins of the ungodly, let us work together to bring all peoples to God.
For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.
God sees even the smallest of us and it is our great work to join God in solidarity with the poor.
Rise up, O Lord, let not the ungodly have the upper hand; let them be judged before you.
God sees even the smallest of our actions to remedy the plight of the poor.
Put fear upon them, O Lord; let the ungodly know they are but mortal.
Rather than pray for the end of our enemies, let us pray for their great conversion of heart.
God says: I realize that you live in a world of injustice. I understand that you want me to remedy even unbalance, each inequality, all corruption and lack of integrity. And that is the great work to which I call each of you. Join me in kingdom-building, in forgiveness and reconciliation. Join me in the greatest and most important work of your lives. Feed the physically poor. Tend to the spiritually poor. Aide the mentally poor. It is in so doing that you will come to see the beauty and worth of my kingdom. It is in so doing that you will put aside your anger and fear. It is in so doing that you will discover the serenity and peace of the kingdom. This is my new covenant with you. Reconcile yourself to me and begin anew, for in this is the hope of the poor.
And the people reply . . . The Lord is known by acts of justice. Let us join the Lord in the great work of The Kingdom. Let us become, with the Lord, the hope of the poor.
Enter the word kingdom-building into the blog search bar and explore what kingdom-building work God might have in mind for each of us.
For information about poverty and health in the USA, click on the image above or go to: http://blog.oup.com/2013/11/poverty-public-health-united-states/
For a world rural poverty map, visit: http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/region
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