Thus says the Lord: For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment; because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals--they who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth, and push the afflicted out of the way.... (Amos 2)We pray, we beseech, we cry out in our need, "Show us your mercy, O Lord." Do we with equal fervor show mercy to our fellows? It is said that the true measure of a society is how it treats the poor and powerless. How are we doing? Dare we even ask?
The gap between the poorest and the wealthiest is growing rapidly as we return to the days of the robber barons over a century ago. Tax breaks go disproportionately to those who least need them, enabling the rich to grow richer. Many go without health insurance in this nation, and even those who have it may find the price they pay, combined with their co-pays, to be exorbitant. What does one pay this month? Rent? Insurance? Utilities? Food? Which can one afford to do without? So many are just one disaster from utter misfortune, one paychesk away from homelessness.
One fourth of the homeless in the United States are veterans. What does this say about our casual mouthing of the slogan "Support the Troops"? As with every major conflict, we face once again the challenge of reintegrating into "normal" society those who have experienced the horrors of battle: who have watched their buddies killed, who have had to slay others, who are witnesses and participants in a daily hell, whose sleeping hours are filled with nightmares and whose days are filled with memories they wish they could lose. When a popped balloon might send your nervous system instantly back into a life-or-death moment, flooding your bloodstream with adrenalin and sending your mind into a panic, how do you relax at your own child's birthday party and not run screaming for cover? When you are overwhelmed where is your safety net? And are we, as a society, even vaguely prepared to embrace our troops, honor their courage and sacrifice, and stay with them as they deal with all this? Or do they become the shunned and forgotten?
As the housing market and shoddy financing implode, as our gross indebtedness and a weakened dollar reduce the value of what we have, as corporations continue to downsize in order to minimize cost and maximize profits for the shareholders (and executives), are the heads of the poor once more trampled into the dust?
Dare we ask God for mercy? Unworthy and unfit as we are, we must, for we need it. Yet we must also show it to others.
May this Advent be a time for us to recognize afresh our bond with all creation, with all people, and to recommit ourselves to seeking and serving Christ in all persons. May we ask God's mercy not just for ourselves, but for all, and place ourselves at God's service in being mercy in the world.
You must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love. (2 Peter 1)
Image: Psalm 84:8 "Show us your mercy, O Lord, and grant us your salvation" - Alleluia verse of Advent 1 - superimposed on Christ enthroned.
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