Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,
for we have had more than enough of contempt.
Our soul has had more than its fill
of the scorn of those who are at ease,
of the contempt of the proud.”
NL Daily Devotion for Saturday, January 11, 2025
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
I just need to own right here that I am one of those who is at ease. No, I’m not in the 1%. Hah! Far from it! Still, I have an embarrassment of riches of all kinds. And I live steeped in the privilege of being white, middle-class, straight, cisgender, Christian, and a U.S. citizen by birth. I am not the psalmist, crying out to God because of my oppression by others. So how do I read this heart-rending plea? As a call to action. First, to listen. Really listen to the plight of the non-privileged with an open heart and mind, rather than deciding what’s “wrong” with them and how to fix it—in short, not to scorn them. Second, to step outside of my comfort and stand in solidarity with others—in short, to have the humility to share a place with the suffering. Third, to act, to bring my privilege to bear on changing the systems that perpetuate inequity and oppression, so that people need no longer cry out for deliverance.
Have mercy on me, O God, for all the ways I do not hear the cries of your children. Deliver me from my own privilege, that I might heed your call. Amen.
