Lenten Devotions in Hard Economic Times

TWENTY-FIFTH DAY OF LENT 
                  MARCH 17
  
 John 12: 8
 
 
You always have the poor with you,
But you do not always have me.
 
Not just the working poor,
But the begging poor,
The wanderers,
The foreigners,
The aliens,
The alienated,
Those who are not secured
By any form of family ties,
Nor anchored
During any blast
Of wind or war.
 
Always the poor are with you,
Sometimes you are the poor,
But you do not always have me.
I am the haven for those who are without
Homes, habitation, and hope.
I am the kindred Spirit,
Drawing together the welter of humanity.
 
At this moment you know I am present,
You’re practically tripping over me,
Bickering and weighing words,
When it is time
To act.
 
Come, now.
Come.
Now.
Overcoming weariness and wariness,
Into the welcome of
Beloved community.

John cited from New Revised Standard Version
commentary in italic