The prophet Amos has a warning for those who work entirely for personal gain without concern for the poor and needy in their midst: The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: Never will I forget a thing they have done! A prophet of social justice, Amos chronicles the transgressions of those who trample on the needy and destroy the poor of the land; their abuses are violations of the covenant with God. Their economy is meant to make the rich richer and the poor poorer, and is built upon dishonesty; prosperity is eating away at social values, breaking down community. How little these abusers value their neighbors except as a means for gain for themselves! Psalm 113 is a clear rebuke to such activity: Praise the Lord who lifts up the poor, the psalmist sings. The Lord calls all to a world order in which all will be treated equally: from the dunghill he lifts up the poor to seat them with princes. All humankind has equal value in God’s eyes. Moreover, if we praise God’s name, we must back it up by living in such a way that all can join in that praise because they too have the means to live and sustain themselves.
In Luke’s Gospel, a rich man’s steward is reported to him for squandering his property, and must scramble to deal with the fallout of his own actions. His plan is curious but effective: he reduces each of his master’s debtors’ debts so as to eliminate his own profit, thereby investing not in money, but in the good will of the people he had previously cheated. Jesus invites his disciples to consider what they are investing themselves in: are they investing in the world they live in, or just taking what they can from it? The steward gains community by losing profits; his generosity creates a more generous world in which he himself is better off, albeit not in the financial sense.
Christ came that all humankind might have access to salvation: God our savior wills everyone to be saved, Paul tells Timothy. Consequently, Paul requests that the prayer of Timothy’s community be universal: supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings are to be offered for everyone. To pray for all is to draw into a deeper relationship with all those in need, the needy, the poor, and the lowly as well as kings and all in authority. We are meant to strive for unity, not dissension; for justice, not inequality; for peace, not discord, anger or argument. When we work for all, when we acknowledge our shared existence and function with the Lord rather than in opposition to him, we are participating in the kingdom of God. Is there anything more worth working toward?
This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com
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