Tag Archives: Equality

Living on the Plain

Living in the Spirit

October 20, 2020

Scripture Reading:

Leviticus 19:1-2, 15-18

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.

You shall not render an unjust judgement; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great: with justice you shall judge your neighbor. You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not profit by the blood of your neighbor: I am the Lord.

You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbor, or you will incur guilt yourself. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

We quote the phrase love your neighbor as yourself easily and regularly. We fail to remember the admonitions that are summarized in this commandment. I am writing this amid the political ads that are bombarding us leading up to the 2020 election. They are no different than the ones we have heard in the past. Many are designed to divide and conquer.

God calls us to live on a level plain, where all are judged the same, where hate has no place in our hearts. Having worked for years with and for the poor, I was interested in the phrase shall not be partial to the poor. When the poor are poor because they are working hard but not paid a living wage, it is not partial to correct that situation. It is doing justice. The poor do need to take responsibility for themselves in every way they can. Our helping them become the people God created them to be is also doing justice.

Isaiah describes it well,

Every valley shall be lifted up
   and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
   and the rough places a plain. — Isaiah 40:4

Prayer: Lord, help us see your image in each person we encounter and make that our starting place in our interactions with them. 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.

Experiencing Privilege

Epiphany

January 31, 2020

Scripture Reading:

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, in order that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’ –1 Corinthians 1:26-31

Why do we long for privilege and then become blind to it becoming a prominent part of our being? I hope I was qualified for the first job I got as a teenager and that I exemplified that quality in my work. I am sure I got the job because the owner of the nursing home where I worked was a friend of my mother. I was in high school and thinking about becoming a nurse, and Mom thought some direct experience might help me make my decision. The nursing home even arranged special work hours for me. I worked 8 to 5 to coincide with Mom’s work schedule so we could ride together while the other aides work either a 7 to 3 or 3 to 11 shift. It worked out well as I could respond to the call lights while shift change occurred, but that was not the reason I had special hours.  I loved being a nurse’s aide, but I also realized I had no desire to be a nurse. Such an experience is not bad; it was good for me, very normal in my middle-class existence. And it was a privilege that few of the women with whom I worked had available.

Most of the other nurse’s aides were women in their fifties or sixties with limited education. In general, they had raised children, were grandmothers, had never worked outside their homes before, and were either widows or caring for a disabled husband while being the sole breadwinner in the home. They were living on the same salary I was making, with which I was saving for college and buying clothing. While this experience changed my vocational choice, it opened my eyes to the inequities in our world. It allowed me just a smidgen of the knowledge of privilege.

Prayer:
Open my eyes, that I may see
Glimpses of truth thou hast for me;
Place in my hands the wonderful key
That shall unclasp and set me free.

Silently now I wait for thee,
Ready, my God, thy will to see.
Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine*! Amen

*First verse and chorus of Open My Eyes by Clara H. Scott see at https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/807

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.

God’s Justice

Living in the Spirit
July 30, 2018

Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a

But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord, and the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him, and said to him, ‘There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds; but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. He brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children; it used to eat of his meager fare, and drink from his cup, and lie in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him. Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was loath to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb, and prepared that for the guest who had come to him.’ Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man. He said to Nathan, ‘As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die; he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.’ –2 Samuel 12:1-6

Nathan was a wise man. He understood that humans define justice based on their personal experiences and culture. One person’s right is not always the way others define right. The righteousness, the justice for which we are to strive must be based on God’s standard. Nathan tells David a simple story with a straightforward message that mirrors the situation David had created through his affair with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband.

As we work to be in alignment with God’s justice, it might be helpful to view the issues we are considering from a totally different vantage point.

How else do we discern God’s standard of justice when some of the stories of God captured in parts of the Bible describe justice that differs markedly from the ways of Jesus? Had Nathan followed the laws of Leviticus 20:10, David and Bathsheba would have both been executed: If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death. Was an exception made for a King or had the execution practice fallen from use years before? We do not implement the same justice on powerful or wealthy people as we do on people living in poverty. We also have laws still on the books that have not been enforced for years. Twenty-one states in the USA still identify adultery as a crime mostly punishable by a fine and rarely if ever enforced.

God’s standard regarding criminal justice as exemplified in the life of Christ has a redemptive quality what we call restorative justice, returning people who have committed offenses against others to wholeness.

Most of the major justice issues with which we deal today are not necessarily related to criminal matters but are related to treating people differently for personal gain without provisions for equity or equality. There is no justice in a world where God provides enough resources for all when a few hoard much of it at the expense of the many. Nathan’s story is very relevant to our times.

Prayer: God of Justice, align our hearts and minds with your standard of Justice. 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.

Trembling Before God

Living in the Spirit
October 18, 2017

Scripture Reading: Psalm 99

The Lord is king; let the peoples tremble!
   He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earthquake!
The Lord is great in Zion;
   he is exalted over all the peoples.
Let them praise your great and awesome name.
   Holy is he!
Mighty King, lover of justice,
   you have established equity;
you have executed justice
   and righteousness in Jacob.
Extol the Lord our God;
   worship at his footstool.
   Holy is he! –Psalm 99:1-5

The time is ripe for us to re-acquaint ourselves with the All-Powerful God. The God we learned to cherish as a child, the loving Father, still cares about our every need but we do not consider trembling before that God. I worked with foster parents who lived on a farm and often had as many as five small children in their charge. They had a huge Doberman. The children rode him he was so big. He was as much their caretaker as the humans. I think he sensed their life challenges. I also knew never to get out of the car when I drove into their driveway if the children were playing in the yard until one of the adults came out to welcome me. The Doberman was the children’s guardian angel. Similarly, God calls us to partnership in assuring and protecting justice for all.

Many children of our Mighty King, lover of justice, establisher of equity are living without justice and equity. We should be very concerned about that.

  • People are dying for lack of clean water,
  • Refugees are escaping certain death with no one willing to receive them
  • Vast discrepancies exists among children of color in school advancement
  • The working poor have little or no healthcare
  • Children are being left in unsafe child care settings because their parents cannot afford to pay for quality care
  • An epidemic of opioid drug use exists because companies make huge profits from the sale of prescription drugs.

I compiled this list from one night’s news.

While we can rest comfortably in the love of God, we must answer God’s call to create a world where all experience justice. Evil thrives in inequality. As it grows, it smothers that which is good resulting in more and more injustice. We must get educated and get involved to let the principalities and powers of our world know where we stand on these and other similar issues. We serve a mighty God who has our backs as we do the Lord’s justice. I somehow do not like the idea of standing before God and explaining why I did nothing. God does not expect each of us to do everything; God does expect all of us to do justice.

Prayer: Almighty God, empower us as we do your justice on our world today. 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.

Loving The Oppressed

Living in the Spirit
August 29, 2017

Scripture Reading: Exodus 3:1-15

But Moses said to God, ‘If I come to the Israelites and say to them, “The God of your ancestors has sent me to you”, and they ask me, “What is his name?” what shall I say to them?’ God said to Moses, ‘I am who I am.’ He said further, ‘Thus you shall say to the Israelites, “I am has sent me to you.” ’ God also said to Moses, ‘Thus you shall say to the Israelites, “The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you”:
This is my name for ever,
and this my title for all generations. –Exodus 3:13-15

What did Moses know about God or even the Israelites? Did he know who Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were? Raised in an Egyptian palace, probably educated in Egyptian schools, was his history of his people complete? He apparently knew he was Israeli, but what did he know of Israel? Note Moses is not asking how to identify God to the Egyptians. His concern was acceptance by the Israelites. The stories of Moses’ birth and adoption by an Egyptian were possibly well known throughout the community, but that did not mean he was to be trusted or followed. He needed a sponsor, and he needed to prove his relationship with the sponsor.

How do people who are not being oppressed help those who are? How is confidence gained? How do any of us prove we are of God? I loved the book Hawaii and the movie created from it. The story of the missionaries was telling. Julie Andrews playing the missionary’s wife fell in love with the people of the island when she met them. She accepted them as they were and they welcomed her. She learned from them, and they learned of God’s love from her. Max von Sydow played the missionary, stern and unbending seeing evil everywhere. He was a scary and sad character dressed in his proper woolen suites on a tropical island.

There is much truth in the song titled; They Will Know We Are Christians by Our Love.

Prayer: Lord as we attempt to do your justice, help our lives reflect our relationship with you. 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.

Equal and/or Equitable

shapeimage_5Eastertide
April 27, 2016

Scripture Reading: Psalm 67

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
   and guide the nations upon earth.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
   let all the peoples praise you. –Psalm 67:4-5

The United States was founded on a principle of equality for all and I support that and think it is a good thing. God seems to take it a step further. The Psalmist, quoted above, talks about our being judged with equity. Equity is defined as:

a free and reasonable conformity to accepted standards of natural right, law, and justice without prejudice, favoritism, or fraud and without rigor entailing undue hardship; justice according to natural law or right; a free and reasonable conformity to accepted standards of natural right, law, and justice without prejudice, favoritism, or fraud and without rigor entailing undue hardship : justice according to natural law or right*

Jesus addresses this in Luke 12:48b when he says, From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.

Our tax system is based on both of these principles. Sells taxes are charged equally to all who purchase. Our income tax system is based on equity. The challenge for our leaders now is discern the fairest way to raise enough revenue to prudently meet the common good. It is a very complex and difficult task. I invite all of us to spend time in prayer for our leaders who must make the final decisions of what needs to be equal and what needs to be equitable.

Prayer: Lord, be with each of our elected representatives. Write on their hearts the best ways not only to identify what is necessary for the common good but also to raise the revenue necessary to provide for the common good in equal and/or equitable ways that also reflect the common good. Amen.

*http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/Equity

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 American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.