Christian Reflection and Prayer

Psalm 33

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
    the people he chose for his inheritance.
13 From heaven the Lord looks down
    and sees all humankind;
14 from his dwelling place he watches
    all who live on earth—
15 he who forms the hearts of all,
    who considers everything they do.

16 No king is saved by the size of his army;
    no warrior escapes by his great strength.
17 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
    despite all its great strength it cannot save.
18 But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him,
    on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
19 to deliver them from death
    and keep them alive in famine.

20 We wait in hope for the Lord;
    he is our help and our shield.
21 In him our hearts rejoice,
    for we trust in his holy name.
22 May your unfailing love be with us, Lord,
    even as we put our hope in you.

A young man, who was always jockeying for the
very best position in all of his summer jobs went
through college dreaming of the day he would be
offered an executive role in his father's huge
industrial plant. On graduation day, the father
took him aside and said, "Son, now you're ready
to come into the family business." Immediately,
the young man had visions of a big, plush office,
a large staff of assistants, and a hefty executive
salary. "I'll start work tomorrow, dad," he said
enthusiastically. Whereupon, the father said,
"Of course, in order to learn the business, you'll
have to start at the bottom. To begin with, your
job will be to water the hundreds of plants located
in our buildings." In an attempted "power play" the
son protested, figuring his father would relent and
offer him a more prestigious position. "I've
changed my mind," he said to his father. "I'm not
coming to work tomorrow." Later, he thought
better of his ill-conceived plan and instead
decided to please his father. And so he went to
work at the job he had been offered. The father
hoped for the best, but was concerned that
despite his son's good intentions, he wouldn't
stay on the job for long. But he stopped worrying
when the young man showed him his new
business card, which read...

"PLANT MANAGER."

Sunday Sermons Online

Another week in Washington brought another
week of attacks on the poor.

The immoral budget proposed by Rep. Paul Ryan
called for billions of dollars in cuts to poverty
programs like Medicaid, food stamps, and other
programs that feed hungry Americans and help
those in need.

But here’s the kicker: Ryan’s destructive plan
would increase the already bloated military budget
by 20%.

Cuts for the least of these. More money for bombs
and guns. Sounds like a horrible plan, right? We
think so. But the sad reality is that this budget
actually passed in the House and was only narrowly
defeated in the Senate.

It was a close call. Too close.

And the threat lingers. Just this weekend, Rep.
Ryan went on Meet the Press and audaciously
claimed these budget priorities were the medicine
needed to restore America's economic health.
These policy debates will continue from now until
election day.

Washington needs to act responsibly with taxpayer
money, but balancing the budget on the backs of the
poor is anything but responsible. Paul Ryan and
many other decision-makers believe the only solution
to the budget deficit is cutting poverty programs. You
and I know that’s just not true.

This is not responsible politics. These politicians are
playing chicken with the budget, but the people who
will lose the most are the poor.

Sojourners

AS A PERSON ON MEDICARE & MEDICAID AND
A FOLLOWER OF JESUS CHRIST THIS CONCERNS
ME!