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How long O Lord? How long? How much longer will this recession last? How much longer will I have to watch my retirement account fritter away? How much longer until I can get a job? How much longer until I can get a job with health insurance that will cover my children? How much longer we will as a society tolerate incivility from those running for public
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God will not favor anyone over the poor,
and God will listen to the petition of one who is wronged.
God will never ignore an orphan’s supplication,
nor a widow, if she pours out speech. (Sirach 35:16-17)
Jesus ben Sirach proclaims the gospel that his namesake Jesus ben Miriam of Nazareth would proclaim some two hundred years later: God is a righteous judge who reveals that righteousness by securing justice for the most vulnerable among us. Specifically God is no respecter of persons or their reputations and God favors no one above the poor. One might even say that God privileges the well-being of the poor.
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As we observe this Sheltering Sabbath in Sukkot, the Festival of Shelter(s), I invite you to think about who is in your sukkah. There is so much in this Sukkoth parsha, that I scarcely know where to begin. There are three smaller portions in Exodus 33 on which I would like to focus. First, verse 12:
Exodus 33:12 Moshe said to the Holy One, “Look! You are the One who said to me, “Bring up this people!” Yet you have not let me know whom you will send with me…”
God has promised repeatedly to send a מלאך, a messenger, with Moshe. In Exodus 23:
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Asaph prayed: How long, Holy One? Will you be angry forever? You must be angry - look at what has happened to us. Our whole world has been turned upside-down. The barbarians are not just at the gate; they have come crashing through, slashing and burning everything in their wake.
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The daily lectionary of the Episcopal Church offers the large lesson from the book of Judges that was read earlier for this day. Having written - if not the book on Deborah - then a major contribution to her study, I looked no further. I love this woman-prophet-military-commander-strategist-and-head-of state. I love proclaiming the gospel attributed to her.
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Today as we hear the gospel of the Good Samaritan bound together with the problematic preaching of a border and boundary crossing prophet, I invite you to reflect on A God Without Borders.
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2 Kings 5:1 Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and elevated in the sight of his lord, because through him the Lord, God of Israel had given victory to Aram.