Tuesday, December 21, 2004

21 December 2004

Beginning again with William Sloane Coffin in "A Passion for the Possible."



The story of God and Moses and Pharaoh reminds us that compassion, for its implementation, demands confrontation. It also puts churches on notice to identify not with the structures of power but with the victims of power.



Confrontation is not easy for many people. When we put on top of that fact that our confrontation is not done simply for ourselves, but rather for those people with whom most of us would rather not associate (the poor, the outsider, all who are not a part of the power complex of a society), it is even harder to do. It is not ever going to be easy to be a compassionate friend of those not befriended by the powers that be. It is easy to be a compassionate conservative because you never have to side with the poor and outcast...you simply side with the ones that will allow you to keep power in the hands of the powerful. Churches are called to be compassionate and to act according to that compassion even when it sets us on a side of the fence that someone like Pharoah (and his kind) would not appreciate.



Connection: There is much talk about issue of concern today. Listen to them. Pay attention to who may be beneficiaries of action. Too often, our so-called compassion has little to do with the welfare of those with no power.



Lord, God, you deliver us from the travails of this day by sending your people into this day with a word of love that is meant to set all people free. When we try to see the world only at it benefits us, remind us of the rest of your children who still call out to be set free from oppression in its many forms. Amen.

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