Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Then Moses said to Aaron: Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, ‘Draw near to the Lord, for he has heard your complaining.’”
NL Daily Devotion for Monday, August 31, 2020
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Who doesn’t love to complain? I mean, there’s always something, right? At the moment, we’re headed to 93 degrees here in Minnesota, and humid to boot. Maybe your sister ate the last cookie you had wanted for yourself. Or no one on the roads seems to remember how to use their turn signal. These are minor inconveniences, not something worth complaining to God about.
Other folks have real, important, devastating reasons to complain. The Israelites were dying of hunger and thirst in the middle of the desert. Unarmed black men, women, and children in my country are routinely murdered by police officers. Thousands of people are unable to access basic healthcare. Children experience hunger and its deleterious effects. The environment is headed toward unrecoverable catastrophe. I could go on and on and on some more.
God heard the Israelites’ complaints and intervened through Moses. God hears the complaints of the countless oppressed in the States and around the world and calls us to action on their behalf. God hears us in our distress, no matter how great or small, and tells us to hear others just as God does.
Gracious God, give ear to my complaint, and act in my defense, just as you call me to act on behalf of others. Amen.
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