December 1st
Psalm 72:1-7
Courtney Bowen
Justice Rolling Down Like Waters
“Give the king your justice, O God,” the Psalmist implores, “may he judge your people with righteousness and your poor with justice (v1).” Once again, we see God’s special concern for the poor of the earth. The poor are indeed not “the poor” but your (God’s!) poor. And the poor are to receive justice; the needy are to be given deliverance; and the oppressor is to be crushed (v4). To be a good leader - to be guided by God - the king is not instructed to show signs of strength or consolidate power, but rather to “be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth” (v6). The king is to be nourishing and life-giving, like water to crops, particularly to the most vulnerable.
Today, the most vulnerable in our world are unfairly also those hit hardest by climate change. Changing weather patterns may be a global phenomenon, wreaking havoc across the earth; but it is the people already burdened by poverty and oppression who are most impacted and have the least ability to cope. God’s poor are not receiving justice.
How can we respond? How can we be “like showers that water the earth?” We make intentional changes to lower our own carbon footprint, encourage our churches to become Earth Care Congregations, pressure our politicians and groups like COP27, etc. And we pray with the Psalmist that may “peace abound, until the moon is no more.”
Loving God, help us to share your special concern for the poor and most vulnerable among us. Grant that we and our actions be like nourishing water. Guide us in the ways of peace and justice, so that all people may flourish. Amen.
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