What else has he to sleep in?

For a larger version, click on the image by Mihail Ursu: a homeless man sleeping on an air vent for warmth, in front of a Romanian supermarket named Angst; the slogan in the windows translates Excellence makes the difference.

I've begun working on my homily for this coming Sunday. Here's the first scripture we'll hear, just 10 days before the election:

Thus says the LORD:
"You shall not molest or oppress an alien,
for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt.
You shall not wrong any widow or orphan.
If ever you wrong them and they cry out to me,
I will surely hear their cry.
My wrath will flare up,
and I will kill you with the sword;
then your own wives will be widows,
and your children orphans.

"If you lend money
to one of your poor neighbors among my people,
you shall not act like an extortioner toward him
by demanding interest from him.
If you take your neighbor's cloak as a pledge,
you shall return it to him before sunset;
for this cloak of his is the only covering he has for his body.
What else has he to sleep in?
If he cries out to me, I will hear him;
for I am compassionate."
(Exodus 22:20-26)

These would be strong words whenever proclaimed but this text offers a good example how our own circumstances can be to the scriptures like a struck match in a dark room: light!

The long campaign season has seen social issues and moral questions debated over and over. The issues at stake touch on human life from womb to tomb. This scripture gives us a telling image of how close to God's heart is the plight of the alien, the dependent and the poor - and the strength with which he calls us to their service and defense.

And, as we will hear on Sunday, this is the "Word of the Lord..."

-ConcordPastor