Mtr Kelli Joyce

Friends in Christ,

"Those who are greedy for unjust gain make trouble for their households, but those who hate bribes will live."

"[The wicked] have no understanding of the Lord's doings, nor of the works of his hands; *
therefore he will break them down and not build them up.

"See how they are fallen, those who work wickedness! *
they are cast down and shall not be able to rise."

I'll just be frank: this seems fake. These verses from the Psalms and Proverbs in today's Daily Office readings describe a world I think I would very much like to live in, but not one that resembles the world I actually see around me. From where I stand, it looks like the greedy and corrupt often flourish at the expense of the meek and the humble. I don't have much reason to believe things were terribly different in the days of David and Solomon.

So then, why these certain proclamations of doom for the cruel, and the greedy, and the unjust? I have a theory, at least. These passages aren't intended to tell us about the world we live in - most of us are pretty familiar with it already, and with its injustices. Instead, these verses tell us about who God is, and about what God desires for human society.

I believe that God acts in history, and that God's favorite way to act in history seems to be through ordinary humans. If this is true, then we must seek after a world where what the Psalmist says is true: a world where corruption and abuse of the vulnerable are not rewarded. It's easy to see the successful and admire them, but it is honesty and purity of heart that God longs to see rewarded. So instead of seeing material wealth as a sign of blessing and poverty and distress as signs of God's disfavor, let us look at hearts, and work to create a world where the mighty are cast down from their thrones, and the lowly are lifted up.

In peace,
Kelli