Just harvesting. Just living. Those who are the most vulnerable, the most needy, the text tells us, are to be taken care of first no matter what the normal business policies may be.
Preferential treatment of the poor is the idea that God, as revealed through scripture and experience, expects that the poor, the least of these, are to be given more consideration by the rest of society because of their fragile state. Nearly 15 million or 21% of children in the U.S. live below the federal poverty level.
Too often in our “pull yourself by your bootstraps” society, we want to condemn those who are impoverished as lazy, stupid, or at least lousy decision-makers. God makes no such judgment. God does not give qualifiers to poverty. God just says, "feed my sheep."
Prayer
Prayer
Lord, Lord, we want to deem who is worthy of our great beneficence. Perhaps we should pray, Dear One, that we are worthy to be Christ-like benefactors. Amen.
Rev. Maggie Sebastian
VA Medical Center
Portland, Oregon
No comments:
Post a Comment