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Scripture reading for the week – Isaiah 40.29 (NRSV)

“God gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless.”

Reflection

             “God is on the side of the poor.” When I first heard those words during a summer class with theologian Ada María Isasi-Díaz, I first felt puzzled. How can God, the One we say has created EVERYONE, take sides? Isn’t this the God who has made the rich too? These were my first thoughts. I usually did not stay quiet in class, so I opened my mouth and shared my concerns in class. An interesting discussion followed; one in which I was certainly not the winner!

            By the end of that summer class I finally understood what this meant. God is not taking sides. God has always been with the poor, with the marginalized, with the downtrodden. God did not choose sides. We did. By forgetting to share our access to resources and our power we have made a clear decision on who is “in” and who is “out.” God, it turned out, was left behind. But God is not alone. There are millions of people with whom God communes.

            In recent years, the Christian communities in India have developed a Dalit theology. Dalit is the term for those whom the Indian society has referred to as “untouchables.” This way of approaching the Holy One tells us that God is not in the spaces of worship – whether animistic, Hindu, Christian, or Muslim – of the subcontinent, but rather walking on the streets of Kolkata and New Delhi. The Holy One walks with those whom society has deemed not worth of our touch. God did not take sides; humanity did.

            If religious people want to really know the Mystery of God, then we must begin to look for this Mystery in those around us who have lacked power, wealth, access to resources, and who have suffered oppression and want. We must become the other, walk in their shoes, listen and really pay attention to their needs… God has already granted them power and strength, as the prophet Isaiah reminds us. It is time for the rest of us to walk with them and meet God.

             This coming Sunday our faith community will gather to explore ways in which we can begin – or continue, since we are all in different stages – this journey of solidarity. Gathering around the Table for Communion, we will get the strength to go out and become one with the world, especially with those who are often forgotten. Hopefully, this way we will again stay with the Holy One and God’s people!

In the Solidarity of Christ,

Pastor Manny