I. Readings
Psalms 47, 57, 85
Habakkuk 2:1-4, 9-20
James 2:14-26
Luke 16:19-31
II. Selections
Psalm 47:1-2
Clap your hands, all you peoples;
shout to God with loud songs of joy.
For the LORD, the Most High, is awesome,
a great king over all the earth.
Habakkuk 2:9
"Alas for you who get evil gain for your houses,
setting your nest on high
to be safe from the reach of harm!"
James 2:15-16
If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, keep warm and eat your fill," and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that?
Luke 16:20
" ...And at [ the rich man's] gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man's table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. ... "
III. Meditation: Uncomfortable questions
Can we who are rich clap our hands for you,
or with loud songs of joy shout for you,
when you confront us with the vision
of dogs licking the sores on Lazarus?
Can we call you King when you demand
more than expressions of our pity
for our naked and hungry
sisters and brothers?
How shall we respond to your warning
that the nests we have set on high
to protect our evil gains are not
beyond the reach of harm?
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