Psalm 146: ⁵ Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God, ⁶ who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever; ⁷ who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free; ⁸ the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. ⁹ The Lord watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. 

I love the way this passage reflects the concern of God for the oppressed, the hungry, the prisoner, the blind, the bowed down, the stranger, the orphan and widow. At our best, we Christians act in ways that support people on the margins, particularly in this season of Advent and Christmas. It represents an important witness to a world that is increasingly skeptical of organized religion, and Christianity in particular.

Dear Lord, so much of the press connected to church is negative, highlighting the places where the we fail to live up to our values of love, compassion, grace, and mercy. Empower us to bear witness to who you are by loving people on the margins of our world. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.