Lent
March 14, 2022
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 55:1-9
Ho, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and you that have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
Incline your ear, and come to me;
listen, so that you may live.
I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
my steadfast, sure love for David.
See, I made him a witness to the peoples,
a leader and commander for the peoples.
See, you shall call nations that you do not know,
and nations that do not know you shall run to you,
because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel,
for he has glorified you. –Isaiah 55:1-5
Enough is a simple word that sets the boundaries on wholeness which can only happen when supported by oneness and justice. I have spent most of my life addressing issues related to poverty. Poverty is the end result of never having enough of the necessities of life. I once heard a speaker say that the difference between being poor and living in poverty is that the latter live without hope.
The poverty ratio in the USA for four people is $25,701* per year or an annual salary of $12.35 per hour working 52 weeks, 40 hours per week. Sixteen percent of children live in poverty*.
God’s desire is for everyone to have enough. That does not mean everyone must have the same resources but it does mean that all should have the necessities of life written about in the above scripture. We are called to bring hope to the hopeless.
Prayer: Lord, help us assure that others, all others have enough. Amen.
*https://www.povertyusa.org/facts
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.