Sometimes it takes a tragedy. Some tragedies seem to be more personal, others larger, and in the minds of many, more incomprehensible. We have explanations for natural disasters like earthquakes, of course, but there’s no equivalent explanation for the collapse of Champlain Towers South. The rising sea level led to the deterioration of the physical structure but as some have said, there was also a deterioration in the social structure as well.
Our physical and social worlds are deeply intertwined, perhaps more than we realize. In many American cities, the poor struggle to maintain their homes while gleaming high rises cater to the rich. The physical gap of rich and poor reflects the social gap as well.
Whether it’s along Route 35 in Middletown, Exchange Place in Jersey City, or such cities like Boston and New York, new construction is touted as “luxury” this or that and the poor are shunted aside. The pandemic only exacerbated these differences. The question for us becomes how we will create a new society that is more equitable.
Prayer for the Day
God beyond all comprehension,
You pour out your mercy upon us
Open our eyes blind to the world around us,
And our ears deaf to the cry of the the poor.
Your Holy Spirit is a window to all around us
Breathing your power and your strength on us
In the name of him who shared your spirit with us
Even Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen
Thoughts for the Day
Powerlessness and silence go together. We ... should use our privileged positions not as a shelter from the world's reality, but as a platform from which to speak. A voice is a gift. It should be cherished and used.
Margaret Atwood, writer
We do not think ourselves into new ways of living, we live ourselves into new ways of thinking.
Richard Rohr, from Everything Belongs
When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none,
And their tongue is parched with thirst, I the Lord will answer them,
I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry lands springs of water.
Isaiah 41: 17-18