Wednesday, 24 April, 2002

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6





It doesn't take the brightest person in the world to see that our world, our society, our church is starved for justice. A friend mentioned yesterday that a billboard in Detroit has the words "We Sue Big" running across it. When there is a dollar to be made the dollar will be the meaning of the day. Those who are the ones addressed in this beatitude are those who need and want to have the order of things to be part of a just order. They cannot live anymore under the notion that the rich keep getting richer and the poor - poorer...because they are the ones on the down side of this phrase. In a society that wants to act as though there are no more reasons to consider race and ethnicity when we filled jobs or fill places in schools, we must remember that we are not a color-blind society. Some people are ruled "out of the norm" or even judged "dangerous" or "a risk" just by walking into a room. The longing for God to put things right...to put things in the way God intended them to be for "all" God's beloved may seem like a real fantasy dream to those whose everyday life is lived in a society that has a bias and is still very willing to live according to that bias. God's promise, they will be satisfied...filled...at a deficit no longer.





Connection: A friend once asked if I have many good friends of color. Or if I simply socialize with people who are other than white. Wow, I was shocked at my lack of an answer. Friends...yes. regular "buddies"...no. Why...? We can let our lives be ruled by what is comfortable for us and never let ourselves see the truth...inequality, those who are labeled less or not enough or disposable. Individuals change the day. Individuals can bring truth to light and wholeness within a community. What is the difference between how the poor or the disadvantaged hunger and thirst for justice and how the satifised and advantaged hunger & thirst for the same?





O Lord of all people, let your justice roll down upon us that we may be swept up by its power and refreshed by its fullness. Help us to see your gift of life in those around us and to be a part of the refreshing wind of your spirit in our world. Amen