Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“They have turned their backs to me, not their faces; though I have taught them persistently, they would not listen and accept correction.”
NL Daily Devotion for Tuesday, July 15, 2025
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
It’s not like we don’t know right from wrong. I mean, maybe some of us don’t. But I would argue that basic morality is part of our makeup. The problem is that those with power and resources, who by default of having those things seek nothing more than to maintain and expand them at any cost, bombard the world with messages about how some people are less than human beings in order to justify the fact that they can’t maintain and expand their power without deliberately oppressing said people. Thus the colonists were indoctrinated to believe African slaves were not human. Thus the general German populace was indoctrinated to believe that Jews were evil (and, therefore, less than human). Thus men have infantilized women as absolutely incapable of caring for themselves in order to maintain them as property. And—horribly!—the Bible was used in every case to justify the oppression of God’s beloved people. And because we, in our current context, are incessantly bombarded with ignorant or hateful messaging, many of us have participated, directly and indirectly, in the dehumanization and oppression of those who stand in the way of the wealthy and powerful keeping and increasing their wealth and power.
It's not like God hasn’t been clear, despite the Bible’s heinous misuse in the past. It’s not like Jesus came out as pro-Rome, rather than preaching a crystal clear message about the evils of wealth and the absolutely necessity of caring for all people—those who are poor, unhoused, sick, imprisoned, powerless. But time and again, those of privilege turn their backs to God, not their faces; though God has taught us persistently, we do not listen and accept correction. May we turn our faces back to God, and answer God’s call to justice.
When have my attitudes toward certain people or groups of people been challenged? Have I changed them?
