“The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that it leaves to its children.” ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Texts:
Psalm 88
2 Kings 20:1-11
Mark 9:14-29
Reading 2 Kings 20:1-11 leaves the narrative a bit bare. It is after the promise that Hezekiah will live another 15 years that we read the foretelling of the Babylonian exile and Hezekiah, one of the few good kings in the Northern Kingdom, says of the exile, ""The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good." For he thought, "Why not, if there will be peace and security in my days?" This sounds familiar... For whatever reason, we have trouble understanding that our thriving is linked to the thriving of others. We have trouble understanding that our feast may be at the price of someone else's hunger. Many who receive health insurance that is supported by our government (such as medicare, which is paid into by those working) do not want government supported health insurance for all (even for those who are currently supporting medicare). We worry about ourselves, saying, "Why not, if there will be peace and security in my days?" gathering up security and money and stockpiling goods in case we should need them as we watch our brothers and sisters in our neighborhoods and around the world starve.
It is often not until we find ourselves in times of want that we become sensitive to those in want around us. We are not sympathetic toward individuals who need food stamps until we find ourselves in line for food stamps. We say, "Why can't they all go out and just get jobs?" until we find ourselves in the unemployment line. Despite education and skill, young people struggle to find jobs. Despite having worked in the same place their entire adult lives, older adults often find themselves forced to retire before their affairs are in order. I think it is when we see each others' needs and argue for one anothers' plight that we truly understand what it is to be a community of faith. It is when we look at the young people and children of today and participate in making their world and their reality a little more safe and a little more secure that we have begun to participate in our Christian vocation to make the world a more trustworthy place. It is when we look at the matriarch and patriarchs of our society and treat them with dignity and respect in their care that we make their world more trustworthy. As we make the world more trustworthy for our brothers and sisters and for the generations that will come after us that we come to recognize we are part of a larger web of creation, called to participate with God in the thriving of all creation.
Texts:
Psalm 88
2 Kings 20:1-11
Mark 9:14-29
Reading 2 Kings 20:1-11 leaves the narrative a bit bare. It is after the promise that Hezekiah will live another 15 years that we read the foretelling of the Babylonian exile and Hezekiah, one of the few good kings in the Northern Kingdom, says of the exile, ""The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good." For he thought, "Why not, if there will be peace and security in my days?" This sounds familiar... For whatever reason, we have trouble understanding that our thriving is linked to the thriving of others. We have trouble understanding that our feast may be at the price of someone else's hunger. Many who receive health insurance that is supported by our government (such as medicare, which is paid into by those working) do not want government supported health insurance for all (even for those who are currently supporting medicare). We worry about ourselves, saying, "Why not, if there will be peace and security in my days?" gathering up security and money and stockpiling goods in case we should need them as we watch our brothers and sisters in our neighborhoods and around the world starve.
It is often not until we find ourselves in times of want that we become sensitive to those in want around us. We are not sympathetic toward individuals who need food stamps until we find ourselves in line for food stamps. We say, "Why can't they all go out and just get jobs?" until we find ourselves in the unemployment line. Despite education and skill, young people struggle to find jobs. Despite having worked in the same place their entire adult lives, older adults often find themselves forced to retire before their affairs are in order. I think it is when we see each others' needs and argue for one anothers' plight that we truly understand what it is to be a community of faith. It is when we look at the young people and children of today and participate in making their world and their reality a little more safe and a little more secure that we have begun to participate in our Christian vocation to make the world a more trustworthy place. It is when we look at the matriarch and patriarchs of our society and treat them with dignity and respect in their care that we make their world more trustworthy. As we make the world more trustworthy for our brothers and sisters and for the generations that will come after us that we come to recognize we are part of a larger web of creation, called to participate with God in the thriving of all creation.
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