Holding Out Hope - October 27
Today’s Readings - Psalm 41, 52; Zech. 1:7-17; Rev. 1:4-20; Matt. 12:43-50
In the reading from Zechariah for today, God is speaking to the prophet concerning his compassion and dreams for the people of Jerusalem. God had been angry with his people. God asked that they remain faithful, and instead they worshipped foreign gods and did not keep God’s covenant. God shares with Zechariah that his anger did not burn so hot as to cause the destruction that his people have endured. The foreigners who held his people in captivity have taken advantage of their position of power and have wreaked disaster on God’s people. They have abused the power that God allowed them to have.
The power the foreigners wielded over God’s people resulted in abuse and the damage caused unimaginable harm. The absence of God’s presence created a vacuum that other countries jumped in to fill. They took advantage of the helpless state in which the Hebrews found themselves.
We’ve all known of situations where someone with little or no power is taken advantage of. As a social worker I witnessed this more times than I want to remember. Children who were caught in the welfare system who have no voice. Women who are in domestic abuse situations. We see it on the evening news, when the coverage turns to war zones in parts of the world that are so far away and the living conditions so awful, so removed from our world that it seems unimaginable.
God was angry at how badly God’s children had been treated and I imagine God continues to be angry. I sometimes workout at the Levite Jewish Community Center. The photographs of the men, women and children who had been taken hostage by Hamas, covered the walls. They seemed to say, “Please don’t turn away, don’t forget about us.”
Where do we go when these situations confront us? Where did Zechariah go? He remained faithful to God. He remained with God’s people. Faith is such an easily misunderstood concept – it’s not getting what we want when we want it but instead it’s conviction in something we cannot see, holding out hope with deepest assurance in the loving presence of God.
Power can be life-saving and it can be dangerous. When abused the damage can be staggering. As the Body of Christ we can be faithful witnesses, speaking out against the unjust ways of our world, demanding that safety measures to guard against the abuse of power in government and in the world be implemented. We can remain open, and compassionate to those we disagree. We can ask thoughtful questions and then listen to the responses in such a way that is nonjudgmental and curious. I was reminded recently that not speaking up results in complacency, and complacency results in apathy. Sometimes just speaking up, speaking our truth to power can be energizing and eye-opening.
Faithfully,
Sally+
Reflection and Challenge - How does your faith inform the choices you make? Is your faith reflected in the actions you choose to make on a daily basis? Do your responses reflect our five baptismal promises? (The Book of Common Prayer, pp. 304-305.)