Christmastide
December 28, 2020
Scripture Reading:
Jeremiah 31:7-14
Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
and declare it in the coastlands far away;
say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him,
and will keep him as a shepherd a flock.’
For the Lord has ransomed Jacob,
and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.
They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,
and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord,
over the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and over the young of the flock and the herd;
their life shall become like a watered garden,
and they shall never languish again.
Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,
and the young men and the old shall be merry.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.
I will give the priests their fill of fatness,
and my people shall be satisfied with my bounty,
says the Lord. –Jeremiah 31:10-14.
Jeremiah writes to the Israelites in exile encouraging them not to listen to the voices of the false prophets whose ideas would make things worse. Instead, Jeremiah recommended that the Israelites work toward the welfare of their captors. He sounds like a forerunner of Jesus who said Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven*;
Our nation finds itself in peril. The rich getting richer and the poor, growing in numbers, has been the reality for several years. People of color find themselves disproportionately among those whose salaries have not kept up with living costs. The COVID pandemic has undoubtedly exacerbated the situation.
Most of my acquaintances are not suffering from financial challenges. Retirees like me who rely on income from the stock market may even be doing better financially. However, they are among those at the highest risk of death due to the virus, and there is no guarantee that the stock market will continue breaking records. Most upper-middle-class and above switched from office to home to work. While they may have been inconvenienced, they are still working and earning. That is not true of almost half our nation’s population who not only do not have enough to eat but are facing eviction.
The Israelite exile was a reckoning for them. They had moved away from God and were basking in their wealth until they were overthrown. In a sense, this pandemic is our reckoning to take the blinders off and deal with the inequalities in our society. When I read the scripture for today, I was drawn to the last sentence, and my people shall be satisfied with my bounty, says the Lord. God created a world with enough for everyone. We are charged with the responsibility of handling God’s resources in a manner that meets God’s intentions.
Prayer: Lord, help us use the experiences of 2020 to rectify our failures to assure that your bounty touches the lives of all your children. Amen.
*Verses 44 and 45a of full scripture Matthew 5:43-48
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.