Musing on the Reading - July 4

My child, do not cheat the poor of their living,
and do not keep needy eyes waiting.
Do not grieve the hungry,
or anger one in need.
Do not add to the troubles of the desperate,
or delay giving to the needy.
Do not reject a suppliant in distress,
or turn your face away from the poor.
Do not avert your eye from the needy,
and give no one reason to curse you;
for if in bitterness of soul some should curse you,
their Creator will hear their prayer.

Endear yourself to the congregation;
bow your head low to the great.
Give a hearing to the poor,
and return their greeting politely.
Rescue the oppressed from the oppressor;
and do not be hesitant in giving a verdict.
Be a father to orphans,
and be like a husband to their mother;
you will then be like a son of the Most High,
and he will love you more than does your mother.

-- Sirach 4:1-10


Scriptures read on certain days, like holidays, are often rather pointed. July 4th, Independence Day, commemorates the establishment of a new and free country, born of struggle and good resolutions. Growing up as I did in a small town where the war for that independence was all but finished and where a major leader and his troops surrendered to a group of colonials and their foreign allies, it's hard not to think of those events and their motivators, especially when facing the physical reminders of that conflict like the fortifications and grave markers. The war for American independence resolved some problems -- taxation without representation, second-class status and citizenship, and the like -- but left many others intact.

Americans pride themselves on their country's prosperity. yet in the midst of that prosperity there is still corruption, poverty, homelessness, hunger, oppression, abuse, and many more things that belie the words of our Declaration of Independence, that "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Sirach challenges us to not forget that we have a duty not just to people just like us or who we like or with whom we identify - religiously, economically, politically, socially, emotionally, intellectually or any other -ly.

While we wave our flags, share food and companionship with friends and relatives, watch fireworks and celebrate who we are and the country in which we live, it would probably be a good idea to look to Sirach's admonishments and to remember those Americans who are fighting to make the world safer for people under oppression, whether on our soil or that of places far, far away. We should do more than remember those who have no back yard in which to barbecue burgers, hot dogs and ribs but whose back yard is concrete, broken glass bottles, blowing trash, a cardboard box for shelter and food scrounged from dumpsters. We should do more than just give a passing thought to what equality means -- and to whom it applies. We should do more than write a check to a charity and then pat ourselves on the back for our generosity. True, it is a generous act to share what we have been given, but for this nation to really consider itself the "Christian" nation that many claim, we also have to follow the words of scripture -- like that of Sirach and also of the One who gave his name to a movement and his life to save the universe, not just the Jews, not just the fledgling group who would come to be known as Christians, or even residents of a single country. Jesus told us to take care of the poor, the widows and the orphans, in essence, to grant them the same kind of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness that we desire and have as our own portion. With blessings come responsibilities, as Sirach reminds us. Charity is not just a Christian ideal, it is a concept shared by Jews and Muslims as well, commandments from God to care for those who can't do it on their own, who lack someone to protect them, keep them fed, clothed and housed, and who need a hand up, not a handout, and certainly not platitudes and scorn for lacking the basics of life.

A nation is only as great as its commitment to the well-being of its citizens. A faith is only as great as its commitment to the tenets and teachings it proclaims, among which is that of kindness to those in need. "‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’" That includes sisters too - and children, cousins, the angry old man down the street, the scrunched-over old lady with rag-tag clothes pushing a shopping cart with all her worldly goods inside, the Sikh gentleman in the third seat over on the bus, the Muslim woman in her headscarf, …



Happy Independence Day. May it be a day where we all declare the world free and all people receiving the benefits of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in equality and harmony.