Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry.”
NL Daily Devotion for Monday, February 17, 2025
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Who are the oppressed? I mean, the Bible is chock full of verses proclaiming God’s justice for the oppressed. Jesus’ ministry is to set the oppressed free. To me, the message is absolutely clear—as Christians, if we are to follow in the way of Jesus, we are to be about the work of making sure that every single human being (and every living thing) has what they need to flourish. This is justice. And “the oppressed” are all the people who, because of laws or social norms or economic systems, are deprived of what they need to flourish. This would include BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ folks. This would include women. This would include endangered and threatened species, rainforests, ecosystems. This would include anyone living in poverty or without access to free, comprehensive medical care.
The troubling thing is that many Christians out there believe that it’s Christians who are being oppressed when they are asked to extend basic human rights to those they disagree with on religious grounds. Like the people who refused to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple and were told their discriminatory practice was illegal. So sometimes when I read these passages from the Bible, I wonder if the Israelites—who were, themselves, frequently, almost perpetually, oppressed—limited God’s action to their own desire for flourishing at the expense of those they themselves oppressed. Because God gets more specific, of course—widows, orphans, those who were experiencing hunger; these were the powerless in society, and the ones for whom God demanded the people do justice, for whom God was to deliver justice directly.
We have a long way to go in this regard. Sometimes I wonder if we’ll ever get there. Certainly we won’t as long as those of us with privilege insist on claiming that we’re the ones in need of divine justice.
Do I see myself as oppressed in some way? How? What work am I doing on behalf of the oppressed, even if I am included in that group?
