Psalm Meditation 472
Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time
July 12, 2009

Psalm 41
1 Happy are those who consider the poor; the LORD delivers them in the day of trouble.
2 The LORD protects them and keeps them alive; they are called happy in the land. You do not give them up to the will of their enemies.
3 The LORD sustains them on their sickbed; in their illness you heal all their infirmities.
4 As for me, I said, "O LORD, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against you."
5 My enemies wonder in malice when I will die, and my name perish.
6 And when they come to see me, they utter empty words, while their hearts gather mischief; when they go out, they tell it abroad.
7 All who hate me whisper together about me; they imagine the worst for me.
8 They think that a deadly thing has fastened on me, that I will not rise again from where I lie.
9 Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted, who ate of my bread, has lifted the heel against me.
10 But you, O LORD, be gracious to me, and raise me up, that I may repay them.
11 By this I know that you are pleased with me; because my enemy has not triumphed over me.
12 But you have upheld me because of my integrity, and set me in your presence forever.
13 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.
(NRSV)

Having been scammed numerous times by folks who are abusing the system of church safety nets I find myself pretty cynical when folks come to ask for help. Fortunately there are folks around me who are good enough to remind me that even folks who play the system are children of God. They also remind me that even if most of the people who come through asking for help are as cynical on their side as I am on mine, every now and then someone really is in need of the help we have to offer. Even in my cynicism I know that it is important to consider the poor; those who ask for help and those who suffer silently not knowing where to turn.

Most of the time it is easier to consider the poor as a group than it is to deal with individuals in poverty. That is not a bad thing. If we find ourselves working toward changes in the system that will move people out of poverty we have done something for the individuals as well. If we help folks one at a time the systemic causes of that poverty still exist. Will we ever alleviate poverty completely? No. There will always be someone with less of something than others. Does that mean we give up and simply grab all we can so that we never become one of the poor? No. We do well to keep helping the individuals as best we can as well as working for changes in the system that will make poverty less of a threat to more and more people.

The history of salvation reminds us that God is always on the side of the poor, the oppressed and the downtrodden. For us to ignore those in poverty is to ignore the people closest to God’s own heart. It is important to find the way that works for each of us. It is not necessarily the easy way so much as the one that gives the feeling of having acted out of a relationship with God in building a more healthy and whole place for all to live

© July 6, 2009