Psalm Meditation 736
Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time
July 27, 2014

Psalm 10
1 Why, O LORD, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
2 In arrogance the wicked persecute the poor—let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.
3 For the wicked boast of the desires of their heart, those greedy for gain curse and renounce the LORD.
4 In the pride of their countenance the wicked say, “God will not seek it out”; all their thoughts are, “There is no God.”
5 Their ways prosper at all times; your judgments are on high, out of their sight; as for their foes, they scoff at them.
6 They think in their heart, “We shall not be moved; throughout all generations we shall not meet adversity.”
7 Their mouths are filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under their tongues are mischief and iniquity.
8 They sit in ambush in the villages; in hiding places they murder the innocent. Their eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;
9 they lurk in secret like a lion in its covert; they lurk that they may seize the poor; they seize the poor and drag them off in their net.
10 They stoop, they crouch, and the helpless fall by their might.
11 They think in their heart, “God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”
12 Rise up, O LORD; O God, lift up your hand; do not forget the oppressed.
13 Why do the wicked renounce God, and say in their hearts, “You will not call us to account”?
14 But you do see! Indeed you note trouble and grief, that you may take it into your hands; the helpless commit themselves to you; you have been the helper of the orphan.
15 Break the arm of the wicked and evildoers; seek out their wickedness until you find none.
16 The LORD is king forever and ever; the nations shall perish from his land.
17 O LORD, you will hear the desire of the meek; you will strengthen their heart, you will incline your ear
18 to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed, so that those from earth may strike terror no more.
(NRSV)

We live in a world of abundance and behave as if we lived in a world of scarcity. Since there can’t possibly be enough to go around, I will grab for all I can at every opportunity. Once I have amassed the biggest pile of property, I will protect it from you so that you can’t get any of mine and then will do what I can to keep you from getting any from anywhere, let alone from me. Some of us are so convinced of the scarcity of the world’s resources that we use them sparingly after having collected them. We become hoarders and misers, fearful of anyone who appears to be a threat to our stuff.

In biblical times the belief was that there was a set limit to wealth that had already been realized and the only way to get more was at the expense of someone else. That meant that the only way to get rich was by taking from someone else and in the case of the very rich, by taking from everyone else. While we know that there is a limit to the resources of the earth, we have not reached the point of there being no more wealth available. It is possible that making resources available to those who have little to none will actually open up new economic horizons for those with as well as those without wealth in the current scheme of things.

No matter the current state of the economy, it falls to the people of God to share our resources with those who have none. It is not because they deserve it or have done something to earn it, so much as it is an expression of gratitude on our part for the gracious generosity that comes from God. Since all we have comes from God and since God leans toward helping those who cannot help themselves, we do well to help others with a gracious and generous hand as people of God, set apart for service.

July 21, 2014
LCM