Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the king's son;
That he may rule your people righteously and the poor with justice;
That the mountains may bring prosperity to the people, and the little hills bring righteousness.
He shall defend the needy among the people; he shall rescue the poor and crush the oppressor.
He shall live as long as the sun and moon endure, from one generation to another.
He shall come down like rain upon the mown field, like showers that water the earth.
In his time shall the righteous flourish; there shall be abundance of peace till the moon shall be no more.
The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall pay tribute, and the kings of Arabia and Saba offer gifts.
All kings shall bow down before him, and all the nations do him service.
For he shall deliver the poor who cries out in distress, and the oppressed who has no helper.
He shall have pity on the lowly and poor; he shall preserve the lives of the needy.
He shall redeem their lives from oppression and violence, and dear shall their blood be in his sight.
PSALM 72:1-7, 10-14 NRSVue
Many of you will know that yesterday, January 6th, was the Feast of the Epiphany in the Christian liturgical calendar. Following the twelve days of the Christmas season the church recognizes the journey and arrival of the Magi or Wise Men, astronomers and astrologers. They sought a king, the Messiah, and found the toddler Jesus, born a Jewish peasant.
Sadly, January 6th is also a day of infamy in the United States when the former president, now inexplicably the president-elect, fomented an insurrection. The supposedly sacrosanct Capitol building was overrun by hooligans who wanted to subvert democracy and put an emperor or dictator -- not a duly elected president -- into control. While this effort failed, those who were convicted of crimes from that day may soon be pardoned. So much for democracy and the rule of law.
I read the lectionary passages from yesterday which include the "arise your light has come" passage from Isaiah and the story of the Magi found only in Matthew's gospel. There were also verses from Psalm 72 which speak of a ruler who "shall deliver the poor who cries out in distress, and the oppressed who has no helper. He shall have pity on the lowly and poor; he shall preserve the lives of the needy." In no way does this biblical vision jibe with the relentlessly "us and them" rhetoric of the incoming president and his vice-president who have demonized immigrants and plan to deport millions of them. The president-elect has surrounded himself with unelected, self-serving billionaires to the extent that he has been tagged with the moniker "President Mump" in recognition of his new advisor who is apparently the wealthiest man in the world.
It's curious that this Psalm 72 selection omits verse 8:
May he have dominion from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
This is the source of the official motto of Canada "mari usque ad mare" and why in 1867 we were declared a dominion. Yesterday, January 6th, also marked a significant regime change in this country and we'll see how far to the right Canadians are willing to travel in the days ahead. Will we continue a social contract where people are governed righteously and the poor with justice?
1 Arise, your light is come! The Spirit's call obey;
show forth the glory of your God, which shines on you today.
Voices United 79
4 comments:
It's a sad state of affairs when one of the leading discussions on a new liberal party leader is how they will deal with Trump.
Unfortunately, we now have to deal with four years of an incoherent, unintelligent and possibly dangerous narcissist, and hope we and the rest of the world come out unscathed.
Climate change will not take a back seat with Trump - it won't have a seat at all. The damage this man can do in four years to the climate, to the economy, to individual rights and to foreign relations is a real concern. But don't worry, he can end any war in just hours, and magically can prevent wars from beginning in the first place. He can also ensure that any pandemics that break out will be handled by a simple injection of bleach.
Meanwhile, David, I'll not focus on politics for the next few days but on the Steelers and their very slim chances of actually winning a playoff game. But hey, at least they're soaring into the playoffs on a four game losing streak. That's my Steelers for you!
It is mind boggling how one man can set a whole continent in chaos... and he is not even in the oval office yet - frightening ! Even more frightening is the fact that large numbers of Americans voted him into office !
I will say first of all, Roger, that I'm getting soft in my old age. I have been rooting for the Steelers on your behalf but the last few weeks my "thoughts and prayers" have had no positive effect. You may need to appeal to a higher power.
Roger and Judy, both of you reflect the dismay that most of us in Canada feel about Trump, and I agree that his re-election will be a terrible blow to environmental gains, as meagre as they have been. Meanwhile the climate catastrophes mount up in the States.
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