The lectionary reading for today is a dark one—Jesus telling his followers that they will be betrayed, even by their own family members, and persecuted, and some put to death. The reading happens to fall on a day when six priests, a housekeeper, and her daughter were murdered back in 1989 on the campus of La UCA, the University of Central America in San Salvador.
The priests were pulled out of their beds in the middle of the night, taken on to the central lawn and shot at point blank range. The housekeeper and her daughter were discovered and shot because they witnessed the murders. What had these priests done that made them the targets of such violence? They preached the Gospel, the good news to the poor that says the poor should not have to live as slaves to the rich who desperately were holding onto their power and wealth.
Now we may not line up people against a wall and kill them because they preach the Gospel, but in our policies towards the poor and vulnerable, we might as well. We don’t make big business and corporate wealth pay what they really should but claim that the poor defraud the government in their need for SNAP benefits. For policymakers who claim to be Christian, something is skewed.
Prayer for the Day
We hear the words of your prophets, O God,
But so often we ignore them in our daily lives;
We hear the cry of the poor and vulnerable, O Lord,
But we are too preoccupied with our own wants.
Open not just our ears but our hearts to others around us,
So we respond as we are called to do.
In the name of the One who brings good news to the poor,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
We have 64 million people in this country currently working for less than $15 per hour, struggling to make ends meet. There is no state or county where someone earning the federal minimum wage could afford a 2-bedroom apartment at market rent.
Rev. Dr. William Barber, Yale Center for Religion and Public Policy
Suppose a person claims to have faith but doesn’t act on their faith. My brothers and sisters, can this kind of faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister has no clothes or food. Suppose one of you says to them, ‘Go. I hope everything turns out fine for you. Keep warm. Eat well.’ And suppose you do nothing about what they really need. Then what good have you done?
James 2:14–16