Eastertide
April 25, 2018
Scripture Reading: Psalm 22:25-31
From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
my vows I will pay before those who fear him.
The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
those who seek him shall praise the Lord.
May your hearts live forever!
All the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the Lord;
and all the families of the nations
shall worship before him.
For dominion belongs to the Lord,
and he rules over the nations.
To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down;
before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
and I shall live for him.
Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord,
and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn,
saying that he has done it.
Inclusiveness and provisions for everyone to have enough of what they need are themes that weave through the entire Bible and would seem to be a statement of our purpose. How much time and talent do we devote to welcoming and interacting with all and assuring that all shall eat and be satisfied?
There is a dis-ease running through communities of people over the age of 65 who thought their payroll deductions for so many years were building a nest egg for their retirement through the provision of Medicare and Social Security. Many also saved wisely or participated in work-related retirement programs. Now nearly every day they read in the paper or through other media our federal government’s intent to reduce markedly both programs. My mother was a frugal person. She routinely saved money and my parents invested the funds from selling the farm to complement their Social Security and Medicare. Medicare does not pay for long-term care and when her health necessitated long-term care, it was amazing how fast those investments disappeared. Those over 65 know these stories well and that contributes to their dis-ease.
The federal government routinely uses excess funds in the Social Security Trust which then becomes a part of our national debt. To put it very simply the Social Security Trust fund is not running out of funds, the federal government is not paying its debt to it. Reducing benefits is a way of getting past the debt problem.
At what point do our values need to drive our government? Ours is supposed to be a government of the people, for the people, by the people that has a responsibility to be inclusive and to provide for the Common Good. I think those ideals line up well with our Judeo-Christian concerns for meeting basic needs. The Common Good also implies the integrity to use resources for their intended use.
Prayer: God, show us how to be doers of your justice in our role as citizens. Amen.