Eastertide

May 13, 2020

Scripture Reading:

Psalm 66:8-20

Bless our God, O peoples,
   let the sound of his praise be heard,
who has kept us among the living,
   and has not let our feet slip.
For you, O God, have tested us;
   you have tried us as silver is tried.
You brought us into the net;
   you laid burdens on our backs;
you let people ride over our heads;
   we went through fire and through water;
yet you have brought us out to a spacious place.

Come and hear, all you who fear God,
   and I will tell what he has done for me.
I cried aloud to him,
   and he was extolled with my tongue.
If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
   the Lord would not have listened.
But truly God has listened;
   he has given heed to the words of my prayer. –Psalm 66:8-12, 16-19

A headline in the paper caught my eye. The Supreme Court is hearing a case where two teachers from a faith-based school had filed claims of discrimination as one had been fired for turning 60 and was considered too old to teach. The other was fired because she was diagnosed with cancer. The school apparently is claiming that it did not have to obey federal laws related to age or disability discrimination because those laws did not apply to them based on the separation of church and state. My first response had nothing to do with what the Supreme Court decides. I wondered how they explained those decisions to God.

People of God are called throughout the Bible to do justice. I think it is time we who claim to be Christ-followers, dust off our Bibles, and reread Jesus’ guidance for the way we live as individuals as well as serving as the Body of Christ.

You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye. (Matthew 7:5)

I am a strong supporter of the separation of church and state. In a democracy where we the people are the foundation of our civil government, I also think our faith informs our personal stances on civil matters. Perhaps that is what is at the heart of the shambles in which our government functions. Maybe we are cherishing iniquity in our hearts and projecting them through our systems of governance.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us for losing sight of your way of being and following the lesser gods of the world. Help us to renew our understanding of your love. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.