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<\/a><\/p>\nWeek 5: A Way in the Wilderness<\/h2>\n\u201cDo you not perceive it?\u201d (Isaiah 43:19)<\/h3>\nRead<\/h4>\n\n- Isaiah 43:16-21<\/li>\n
- Psalm 126<\/li>\n
- Philippians 3:4b-14<\/li>\n
- John 12:1-8<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Reflect<\/h4>\n
Each of the sessions of this Lenten study has been grounded in a verse from this week\u2019s readings:<\/p>\n
I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert (Isaiah 43:19).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
From the first-fruits offering of Deuteronomy to the teaching of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke, our reflections have pointed to how God continues to \u201cmake a way in the wilderness\u201d and calls us to be part of that journey for ourselves and our neighbors. The Scripture readings this season remind us of the promise of new life in Canaan for our ancestors and new life in Christ for us all.<\/p>\n
We have imagined a world without hunger, heard of God\u2019s abundant provision of manna and seen the ways the church has worked tirelessly, in the past and today, to end hunger.<\/p>\n
Now we reach the culmination of this movement toward the fulfillment of God\u2019s promise, wherein Jesus announces: \u201cYou will always have the poor among you\u201d (John 12:8 NIV).<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not the most encouraging verse in the Bible.<\/p>\n
How often have people twisted these words into an excuse for passivity or a sneering retort to proclamations of hope that hunger and poverty can, one day, end? Along with its partner in 2 Thessalonians (\u201cAnyone unwilling to work should not eat\u201d), it\u2019s one of the \u201chard passages\u201d for people of faith eager to inspire others to respond to hunger and poverty. These troublesome verses are often used to support restrictive, counterintuitive policies and practices that inhibit real progress against hunger and poverty. Why try harder to end hunger and poverty if even Jesus says poverty isn’t going away?<\/p>\n
The passage yields more when we dig a little deeper. Jesus may actually be referring to an earlier part of the Bible here, and in that earlier verse the words are no statement of fact but a challenge to the people of God. The verse appears in a section of Deuteronomy about the Jubilee Year, a time every seven years when debts were forgiven. That earlier passage sheds new light on the verse from John:<\/p>\n
Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, \u201cOpen your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land\u201d (Deuteronomy 15:11).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Far from resigning us to poverty in the world, the verse challenges followers of Christ. In his commentary on Deuteronomy, Martin Luther writes, \u201c\u2018The poor you always have with you,\u2019 just as you will have all other evils. But constant care should be taken that, since these evils are always in evidence, they are always opposed.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Luther, to \u201calways have the poor among you\u201d meant to be confronted always by God\u2019s call to respond to human suffering and oppose the evil that creates it. This is not resignation but activation of the people of God in the service of the neighbor.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s more, we may find in Jesus\u2019 words a lesson for our identity as church together. \u201cYou will always have the poor among you.\u201d If we are truly the
\npeople of God, then we are called to be in community with neighbors who have been marginalized, excluded, oppressed and impoverished by the world\u2019s injustice.<\/p>\n
As church, our calling is not merely to minister to our neighbors but to bear witness to the \u201cnew thing\u201d God is doing in our world, a new community God is making possible. This is not easy work. Confronting hunger and poverty alongside our neighbors means facing the dangerous realities that impact our neighbors.<\/p>\n
In Palestine, Defense of Children International\u2013Palestine (DCIP), supported by ELCA World Hunger, works with children and families to protect their rights and give them the care and support they need. Settlement expansion in the West Bank and increased military presence in daily life put children at risk of negative encounters with Israeli forces. Children detained for
\nviolating the often-discriminatory laws of Israeli occupation risk abuse from both Israeli and Palestinian forces. Despite significant legal reform in recent years, DCIP has found that practices have yet to fully align with domestic or international legal frameworks for juvenile justice and that children are paying the price, navigating a military legal system that fails to meet the minimum international standards, particularly for juveniles.<\/p>\n
DCIP provides both legal and social support for children accused of crimes, and it works with their families, many of whom live in poverty, to improve their situations emotionally, socially and financially through vocational training, the support of social workers and more. This support is critical to addressing the root causes of hunger and poverty in Palestine.<\/p>\n
Responding to hunger means accompanying neighbors as they confront the systems of injustice that create hunger. It means facing harsh realities with realistic perspectives. This is not the false \u201crealism\u201d that twists Jesus\u2019 words in the Gospel but the realistic acknowledgement that we face our own journey in the wilderness before we reach the fullness of God\u2019s promise. Friends, we have a long way to go.<\/p>\n
And yet \u2026 and yet \u2026<\/p>\n
As we have seen throughout our Lenten journey, we are not going it alone. God is with us along the way, inspiring hope and courage and revealing Godself in the neighbors we encounter along the way. We know that this Lenten journey is not the end. The season\u2019s fasting, praying and selfreflecting spiritual disciplines prepare us for the road ahead, the road that leads to the cross \u2014 and beyond, to a new community God makes possible.<\/p>\n
This is not an easy road to travel. But we know that, even amid the challenges ahead, the \u201cnew thing\u201d God is doing \u201csprings forth,\u201d that God is even now working to \u201cmake a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert\u201d (Isaiah 43:19).<\/p>\n
Do you not perceive it?<\/p>\n
Ask<\/h4>\n\n- What does it mean for the church to \u201calways have the poor” with us? How might we rethink Jesus\u2019 words in light of the study session for this week?<\/li>\n
- In what ways does your congregation act as a neighbor toward people in need in your community?<\/li>\n
- Why is the church called to work for justice in the world? What might the work of DCI-Palestine teach us about being the people of God?<\/li>\n
- How can the church inspire hope when the promised future can seem so far away?<\/li>\n
- Where is God calling you and your congregation to be today? How can or will you be part of the \u201cnew thing” God is calling forth?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Pray<\/h4>\n
God of the poor widow, the lost sheep, and the wandering Aramean,
\nGod of the hungry, the thirsty, and the stranger,
\nGod of the naked, the ill, and the imprisoned,<\/p>\n
We confess before you that the church has not always been where
\nyou have called us to be. We have failed to seek your face in our
\nneighbors in need. We have allowed despair to bind our hands and
\nfeet. Change us, O God. Free us to act with hope and courage.<\/p>\n
Open our hearts to perceive your presence in and among our
\nneighbors. Inflame us with holy passion for the work you invite us
\nto in the world. Breathe new life into your church, that we may be
\nthe people you call us to be in the world you call into being:<\/p>\n
A church of the poor widow, the lost sheep and the wandering Aramean.
\nA church of the hungry, the thirsty and the stranger.
\nA church of the naked, the ill and the imprisoned.<\/p>\n
Do a \u201cnew thing\u201d with us and through us, that we may be a
\ncommunity of hope, comfort and welcome \u2014 a living sign of the
\nway we are making in the wilderness. Amen.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
SEMANA 5: Un camino en el desierto<\/strong><\/p>\n\u201c\u00bfNo se dan cuenta?\u201d (Isa\u00edas 43:19).
\nLecturas: Isa\u00edas 43:16-21, Salmo 126, Filipenses 3:4b-14, Juan 12:1-8<\/p>\n
Cada una de las sesiones de este estudio de Cuaresma se ha basado en un vers\u00edculo de las lecturas de esta semana:<\/p>\n
\u00a1Voy a hacer algo nuevo! Ya est\u00e1 sucediendo, \u00bfno se dan cuenta? Estoy abriendo un camino en el desierto, y r\u00edos en lugares desolados (Isa\u00edas 43:19).<\/em><\/p>\nDesde la ofrenda de primicias de Deuteronomio, hasta la ense\u00f1anza de Jes\u00fas en el Evangelio de Lucas, nuestras reflexiones han se\u00f1alado c\u00f3mo Dios contin\u00faa \u201cabriendo un camino en el desierto\u201d y nos llama a ser parte de esa jornada para nosotros y nuestro pr\u00f3jimo. Las lecturas b\u00edblicas de esta temporada nos recuerdan la promesa de una nueva vida en Cana\u00e1n para nuestros antepasados y una nueva vida en Cristo para todos nosotros.<\/p>\n
Hemos imaginado un mundo sin hambre, hemos o\u00eddo hablar de la abundante provisi\u00f3n que Dios hizo de man\u00e1, y hemos visto las formas en que la iglesia ha trabajado incansablemente, en el pasado y en la actualidad, para acabar con el hambre.<\/p>\n
Ahora llegamos a la culminaci\u00f3n de este movimiento hacia el cumplimiento de la promesa de Dios, en la que Jes\u00fas anuncia: \u201cA los pobres siempre los tendr\u00e1n con ustedes\u201d (Juan 12:8 NVI).<\/p>\n
Este no es el vers\u00edculo m\u00e1s alentador de la Biblia.<\/p>\n
\u00bfCu\u00e1ntas veces la gente ha tergiversado estas palabras en una excusa para la pasividad o una r\u00e9plica burlona a las proclamas de esperanza de que el hambre y la pobreza pueden, alg\u00fan d\u00eda, terminar? Junto con su vers\u00edculo compa\u00f1ero en 2 Tesalonicenses (\u201cEl que no quiera trabajar, que tampoco coma\u201d), es uno de los \u201cpasajes dif\u00edciles\u201d para las personas de fe ansiosas por inspirar a otros a responder al hambre y la pobreza. Estos vers\u00edculos problem\u00e1ticos a menudo se usan para apoyar pol\u00edticas y pr\u00e1cticas restrictivas y contraintuitivas que inhiben el progreso real contra el hambre y la pobreza. \u00bfPor qu\u00e9 esforzarse m\u00e1s para acabar con el hambre y la pobreza si incluso Jes\u00fas dice que la pobreza no va a desaparecer?<\/p>\n
El pasaje brinda m\u00e1s cuando cavamos un poco m\u00e1s profundo. En realidad, Jes\u00fas podr\u00eda estar refiri\u00e9ndose aqu\u00ed a una parte anterior de la Biblia, y en ese vers\u00edculo anterior las palabras no son una declaraci\u00f3n de hechos, sino un desaf\u00edo al pueblo de Dios. El vers\u00edculo aparece en una secci\u00f3n de Deuteronomio sobre el a\u00f1o del jubileo, un tiempo cada siete a\u00f1os en que las deudas eran perdonadas. Ese pasaje anterior arroja nueva luz sobre el vers\u00edculo de Juan:<\/p>\n
Gente pobre en esta tierra, siempre la habr\u00e1; por eso te ordeno que seas generoso con tus hermanos hebreos y con los pobres y necesitados de tu tierra\u201d (Deuteronomio 15:11).<\/em><\/p>\nLejos de resignarnos a la pobreza en el mundo, el vers\u00edculo desaf\u00eda a los seguidores de Cristo. En su comentario sobre Deuteronomio, Mart\u00edn Lutero escribe: \u201c\u2018El pobre siempre lo tienen con ustedes\u2019, as\u00ed como tendr\u00e1n todos los dem\u00e1s males. Pero se debe tener el cuidado constante de que, dado que estos males siempre son evidentes, siempre se les presente oposici\u00f3n\u201d.<\/p>\n
Para Lutero, \u201ca los pobres siempre los tendr\u00e1n con ustedes\u201d significaba ser siempre confrontado por el llamado de Dios a responder al sufrimiento humano y oponerse al mal que lo causa. Esto no es resignaci\u00f3n sino activaci\u00f3n del pueblo de Dios al servicio del pr\u00f3jimo.<\/p>\n
Lo que es m\u00e1s, en las palabras de Jes\u00fas podemos encontrar una lecci\u00f3n para nuestra identidad como iglesia juntos. \u201cA los pobres siempre los tendr\u00e1n con ustedes\u201d. Si realmente somos el pueblo de Dios, entonces estamos llamados a estar en comunidad con los vecinos que han sido marginados, excluidos, oprimidos y empobrecidos por la injusticia del mundo.<\/p>\n
Como iglesia, nuestro llamado no es simplemente ministrar a nuestro pr\u00f3jimo, sino dar testimonio de \u201calgo nuevo\u201d que Dios est\u00e1 haciendo en nuestro mundo, una nueva comunidad que Dios est\u00e1 haciendo posible. Este no es un trabajo f\u00e1cil. Enfrentar el hambre y la pobreza junto a nuestro pr\u00f3jimo significa enfrentar las peligrosas realidades que afectan a nuestros vecinos.<\/p>\n
En Palestina, Defense of Children International\u2013Palestine (DCIP) [Defensa Internacional para los Ni\u00f1os de Palestina], con el apoyo de ELCA World Hunger, trabaja con ni\u00f1os y familias para proteger sus derechos y brindarles la atenci\u00f3n y el apoyo que necesitan. La expansi\u00f3n de los asentamientos en la Ribera Occidental y el aumento de la presencia militar en la vida cotidiana ponen a los ni\u00f1os en riesgo de encuentros negativos con las fuerzas israel\u00edes. Los ni\u00f1os detenidos por violar las leyes a menudo discriminatorias de la ocupaci\u00f3n israel\u00ed corren el riesgo de sufrir abusos tanto por parte de las fuerzas israel\u00edes como de las palestinas. A pesar de la importante reforma legal de los \u00faltimos a\u00f1os, el DCIP ha descubierto que las pr\u00e1cticas a\u00fan no se han alineado plenamente con los marcos jur\u00eddicos nacionales o internacionales para la justicia de menores, y que los ni\u00f1os est\u00e1n pagando el precio, navegando por un sistema legal militar que no cumple con las m\u00ednimas normas internacionales, particularmente para los menores.<\/p>\n
DCIP da apoyo legal y social a los ni\u00f1os acusados de delitos y trabaja con sus familias \u2014muchas de las cuales viven en la pobreza\u2014 para mejorar emocional, social y financieramente sus situaciones a trav\u00e9s de la capacitaci\u00f3n vocacional, el apoyo de los trabajadores sociales y m\u00e1s. Este apoyo es fundamental para atacar las causas profundas del hambre y la pobreza en Palestina.<\/p>\n
Responder al hambre significa acompa\u00f1ar a los vecinos mientras enfrentan los sistemas de injusticia que crean hambre. Significa hacer frente a realidades duras con perspectivas realistas. Este no es el falso \u201crealismo\u201d que tergiversa las palabras de Jes\u00fas en el Evangelio, sino el reconocimiento realista de que enfrentamos nuestra propia jornada en el desierto antes de alcanzar la plenitud de la promesa de Dios.\u00a0 Amigos, nos queda un largo camino por recorrer.<\/p>\n
Y sin embargo\u2026 y sin embargo\u2026<\/p>\n
Como hemos visto a lo largo de nuestra jornada cuaresmal, no vamos solos. Dios est\u00e1 con nosotros en el camino, inspirando esperanza y valent\u00eda y revel\u00e1ndose a s\u00ed mismo en los vecinos que encontramos en el camino. Sabemos que esta jornada cuaresmal no es el fin. Las disciplinas espirituales de ayuno, oraci\u00f3n y autorreflexi\u00f3n de la temporada nos preparan para el camino por delante, el camino que conduce a la cruz; y m\u00e1s all\u00e1, a una nueva comunidad que Dios hace posible.<\/p>\n
No es un camino f\u00e1cil de recorrer. Pero sabemos que, incluso en medio de los desaf\u00edos que tenemos por delante, el \u201calgo nuevo\u201d que Dios est\u00e1 haciendo \u201cbrota\u201d, que Dios incluso ahora est\u00e1 trabajando para \u201cabrir un camino en el desierto y r\u00edos en lugares desolados\u201d (Isa\u00edas 43:19).<\/p>\n
\u00bfNo se dan cuenta?<\/p>\n
Preguntas para la reflexi\u00f3n<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- \u00bfQu\u00e9 significa para la iglesia que \u201ca los pobres siempre los tendremos con nosotros\u201d? \u00bfC\u00f3mo podr\u00edamos replantearnos las palabras de Jes\u00fas a la luz de la sesi\u00f3n de estudio de esta semana?<\/li>\n
- \u00bfDe qu\u00e9 maneras act\u00faa su congregaci\u00f3n como el pr\u00f3jimo de las personas necesitadas en su comunidad?<\/li>\n
- \u00bfPor qu\u00e9 est\u00e1 llamada la iglesia a trabajar por la justicia en el mundo? \u00bfQu\u00e9 podr\u00eda ense\u00f1arnos la obra de DCI-Palestina en lo que respecta a ser el pueblo de Dios?<\/li>\n
- \u00bfC\u00f3mo puede la iglesia inspirar esperanza cuando el futuro prometido puede parecer tan lejano?<\/li>\n
- \u00bfD\u00f3nde est\u00e1 llamando Dios a su congregaci\u00f3n y a usted a estar hoy? \u00bfC\u00f3mo puede ser o ser\u00e1 parte del \u201calgo nuevo\u201d del que Dios est\u00e1 hablando?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Oraci\u00f3n<\/strong><\/p>\nDios de la viuda pobre, de la oveja perdida y del arameo errante, Dios del hambriento, el sediento y el extranjero, Dios del desnudo, el enfermo y el encarcelado:<\/p>\n
Confesamos ante ti que la iglesia no siempre ha estado donde nos has llamado a estar. No hemos podido buscar tu rostro en nuestros vecinos necesitados. Hemos permitido que la desesperaci\u00f3n nos ate las manos y los pies. C\u00e1mbianos, oh Dios. Lib\u00e9ranos para actuar con esperanza y valent\u00eda.<\/p>\n
Abre nuestros corazones para percibir tu presencia en nuestros vecinos y entre ellos. Enci\u00e9ndenos con santa pasi\u00f3n por el trabajo al que nos invitas en el mundo. Sopla nueva vida a tu iglesia, para que podamos ser las personas que nos llamas a ser en el mundo que llamas a ser:<\/p>\n
Una iglesia de la viuda pobre, la oveja perdida y el arameo errante. Una iglesia del hambriento, el sediento y el extranjero.<\/p>\n
Una iglesia del desnudo, el enfermo y el encarcelado. Haz \u201calgo nuevo\u201d con nosotros y a trav\u00e9s de nosotros, para que podamos ser una comunidad de esperanza, consuelo y bienvenida; una se\u00f1al viva del camino que est\u00e1s abriendo en el desierto. Am\u00e9n.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ELCA World Hunger’s 40 Days of Giving Lent 2022 In English and en Espanol Week 5: A Way in the Wilderness \u201cDo you not perceive it?\u201d (Isaiah 43:19) Read Isaiah 43:16-21 Psalm 126 Philippians 3:4b-14 John 12:1-8 Reflect Each of the sessions of this Lenten study has been grounded in a verse from this week\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":191,"featured_media":5439,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[51,179,112,69,58,60,57,324,1014,76,17545],"class_list":["post-5497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-post","tag-advocacy","tag-anti-poverty","tag-children","tag-elca-world-hunger","tag-hunger","tag-lent","tag-lent-resources","tag-luther","tag-martin-luther","tag-poverty","tag-poverty-and-justice"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Lent Reflection 5: A Way in the Wilderness - ELCA World Hunger<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Join ELCA World Hunger this fifth week of Lent to learn about creating a just world where all are fed while we journey in the wilderness\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/lent-reflection-5-a-way-in-the-wilderness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lent Reflection 5: A Way in the Wilderness - ELCA World Hunger\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Join ELCA World Hunger this fifth week of Lent to learn about creating a just world where all are fed while we journey in the wilderness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/lent-reflection-5-a-way-in-the-wilderness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ELCA World Hunger\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-04-04T16:17:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2022\/03\/5.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"elcaworldhunger\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"elcaworldhunger\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"13 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/lent-reflection-5-a-way-in-the-wilderness\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/lent-reflection-5-a-way-in-the-wilderness\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"elcaworldhunger\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f0bbd071b1e6029ad346ebfc1eeb36ce\"},\"headline\":\"Lent Reflection 5: A Way in the Wilderness\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-04-04T16:17:19+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/lent-reflection-5-a-way-in-the-wilderness\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":2887,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/lent-reflection-5-a-way-in-the-wilderness\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/52\\\/2022\\\/03\\\/5.png\",\"keywords\":[\"advocacy\",\"anti-poverty\",\"children\",\"ELCA World Hunger\",\"hunger\",\"Lent\",\"Lent resources\",\"luther\",\"martin luther\",\"poverty\",\"poverty and justice\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Post\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/lent-reflection-5-a-way-in-the-wilderness\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/lent-reflection-5-a-way-in-the-wilderness\\\/\",\"name\":\"Lent Reflection 5: A Way in the Wilderness - 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Read<\/h4>\n\n- Isaiah 43:16-21<\/li>\n
- Psalm 126<\/li>\n
- Philippians 3:4b-14<\/li>\n
- John 12:1-8<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Reflect<\/h4>\n
Each of the sessions of this Lenten study has been grounded in a verse from this week\u2019s readings:<\/p>\n
I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert (Isaiah 43:19).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
From the first-fruits offering of Deuteronomy to the teaching of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke, our reflections have pointed to how God continues to \u201cmake a way in the wilderness\u201d and calls us to be part of that journey for ourselves and our neighbors. The Scripture readings this season remind us of the promise of new life in Canaan for our ancestors and new life in Christ for us all.<\/p>\n
We have imagined a world without hunger, heard of God\u2019s abundant provision of manna and seen the ways the church has worked tirelessly, in the past and today, to end hunger.<\/p>\n
Now we reach the culmination of this movement toward the fulfillment of God\u2019s promise, wherein Jesus announces: \u201cYou will always have the poor among you\u201d (John 12:8 NIV).<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not the most encouraging verse in the Bible.<\/p>\n
How often have people twisted these words into an excuse for passivity or a sneering retort to proclamations of hope that hunger and poverty can, one day, end? Along with its partner in 2 Thessalonians (\u201cAnyone unwilling to work should not eat\u201d), it\u2019s one of the \u201chard passages\u201d for people of faith eager to inspire others to respond to hunger and poverty. These troublesome verses are often used to support restrictive, counterintuitive policies and practices that inhibit real progress against hunger and poverty. Why try harder to end hunger and poverty if even Jesus says poverty isn’t going away?<\/p>\n
The passage yields more when we dig a little deeper. Jesus may actually be referring to an earlier part of the Bible here, and in that earlier verse the words are no statement of fact but a challenge to the people of God. The verse appears in a section of Deuteronomy about the Jubilee Year, a time every seven years when debts were forgiven. That earlier passage sheds new light on the verse from John:<\/p>\n
Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, \u201cOpen your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land\u201d (Deuteronomy 15:11).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Far from resigning us to poverty in the world, the verse challenges followers of Christ. In his commentary on Deuteronomy, Martin Luther writes, \u201c\u2018The poor you always have with you,\u2019 just as you will have all other evils. But constant care should be taken that, since these evils are always in evidence, they are always opposed.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Luther, to \u201calways have the poor among you\u201d meant to be confronted always by God\u2019s call to respond to human suffering and oppose the evil that creates it. This is not resignation but activation of the people of God in the service of the neighbor.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s more, we may find in Jesus\u2019 words a lesson for our identity as church together. \u201cYou will always have the poor among you.\u201d If we are truly the
\npeople of God, then we are called to be in community with neighbors who have been marginalized, excluded, oppressed and impoverished by the world\u2019s injustice.<\/p>\n
As church, our calling is not merely to minister to our neighbors but to bear witness to the \u201cnew thing\u201d God is doing in our world, a new community God is making possible. This is not easy work. Confronting hunger and poverty alongside our neighbors means facing the dangerous realities that impact our neighbors.<\/p>\n
In Palestine, Defense of Children International\u2013Palestine (DCIP), supported by ELCA World Hunger, works with children and families to protect their rights and give them the care and support they need. Settlement expansion in the West Bank and increased military presence in daily life put children at risk of negative encounters with Israeli forces. Children detained for
\nviolating the often-discriminatory laws of Israeli occupation risk abuse from both Israeli and Palestinian forces. Despite significant legal reform in recent years, DCIP has found that practices have yet to fully align with domestic or international legal frameworks for juvenile justice and that children are paying the price, navigating a military legal system that fails to meet the minimum international standards, particularly for juveniles.<\/p>\n
DCIP provides both legal and social support for children accused of crimes, and it works with their families, many of whom live in poverty, to improve their situations emotionally, socially and financially through vocational training, the support of social workers and more. This support is critical to addressing the root causes of hunger and poverty in Palestine.<\/p>\n
Responding to hunger means accompanying neighbors as they confront the systems of injustice that create hunger. It means facing harsh realities with realistic perspectives. This is not the false \u201crealism\u201d that twists Jesus\u2019 words in the Gospel but the realistic acknowledgement that we face our own journey in the wilderness before we reach the fullness of God\u2019s promise. Friends, we have a long way to go.<\/p>\n
And yet \u2026 and yet \u2026<\/p>\n
As we have seen throughout our Lenten journey, we are not going it alone. God is with us along the way, inspiring hope and courage and revealing Godself in the neighbors we encounter along the way. We know that this Lenten journey is not the end. The season\u2019s fasting, praying and selfreflecting spiritual disciplines prepare us for the road ahead, the road that leads to the cross \u2014 and beyond, to a new community God makes possible.<\/p>\n
This is not an easy road to travel. But we know that, even amid the challenges ahead, the \u201cnew thing\u201d God is doing \u201csprings forth,\u201d that God is even now working to \u201cmake a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert\u201d (Isaiah 43:19).<\/p>\n
Do you not perceive it?<\/p>\n
Ask<\/h4>\n\n- What does it mean for the church to \u201calways have the poor” with us? How might we rethink Jesus\u2019 words in light of the study session for this week?<\/li>\n
- In what ways does your congregation act as a neighbor toward people in need in your community?<\/li>\n
- Why is the church called to work for justice in the world? What might the work of DCI-Palestine teach us about being the people of God?<\/li>\n
- How can the church inspire hope when the promised future can seem so far away?<\/li>\n
- Where is God calling you and your congregation to be today? How can or will you be part of the \u201cnew thing” God is calling forth?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Pray<\/h4>\n
God of the poor widow, the lost sheep, and the wandering Aramean,
\nGod of the hungry, the thirsty, and the stranger,
\nGod of the naked, the ill, and the imprisoned,<\/p>\n
We confess before you that the church has not always been where
\nyou have called us to be. We have failed to seek your face in our
\nneighbors in need. We have allowed despair to bind our hands and
\nfeet. Change us, O God. Free us to act with hope and courage.<\/p>\n
Open our hearts to perceive your presence in and among our
\nneighbors. Inflame us with holy passion for the work you invite us
\nto in the world. Breathe new life into your church, that we may be
\nthe people you call us to be in the world you call into being:<\/p>\n
A church of the poor widow, the lost sheep and the wandering Aramean.
\nA church of the hungry, the thirsty and the stranger.
\nA church of the naked, the ill and the imprisoned.<\/p>\n
Do a \u201cnew thing\u201d with us and through us, that we may be a
\ncommunity of hope, comfort and welcome \u2014 a living sign of the
\nway we are making in the wilderness. Amen.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
SEMANA 5: Un camino en el desierto<\/strong><\/p>\n\u201c\u00bfNo se dan cuenta?\u201d (Isa\u00edas 43:19).
\nLecturas: Isa\u00edas 43:16-21, Salmo 126, Filipenses 3:4b-14, Juan 12:1-8<\/p>\n
Cada una de las sesiones de este estudio de Cuaresma se ha basado en un vers\u00edculo de las lecturas de esta semana:<\/p>\n
\u00a1Voy a hacer algo nuevo! Ya est\u00e1 sucediendo, \u00bfno se dan cuenta? Estoy abriendo un camino en el desierto, y r\u00edos en lugares desolados (Isa\u00edas 43:19).<\/em><\/p>\nDesde la ofrenda de primicias de Deuteronomio, hasta la ense\u00f1anza de Jes\u00fas en el Evangelio de Lucas, nuestras reflexiones han se\u00f1alado c\u00f3mo Dios contin\u00faa \u201cabriendo un camino en el desierto\u201d y nos llama a ser parte de esa jornada para nosotros y nuestro pr\u00f3jimo. Las lecturas b\u00edblicas de esta temporada nos recuerdan la promesa de una nueva vida en Cana\u00e1n para nuestros antepasados y una nueva vida en Cristo para todos nosotros.<\/p>\n
Hemos imaginado un mundo sin hambre, hemos o\u00eddo hablar de la abundante provisi\u00f3n que Dios hizo de man\u00e1, y hemos visto las formas en que la iglesia ha trabajado incansablemente, en el pasado y en la actualidad, para acabar con el hambre.<\/p>\n
Ahora llegamos a la culminaci\u00f3n de este movimiento hacia el cumplimiento de la promesa de Dios, en la que Jes\u00fas anuncia: \u201cA los pobres siempre los tendr\u00e1n con ustedes\u201d (Juan 12:8 NVI).<\/p>\n
Este no es el vers\u00edculo m\u00e1s alentador de la Biblia.<\/p>\n
\u00bfCu\u00e1ntas veces la gente ha tergiversado estas palabras en una excusa para la pasividad o una r\u00e9plica burlona a las proclamas de esperanza de que el hambre y la pobreza pueden, alg\u00fan d\u00eda, terminar? Junto con su vers\u00edculo compa\u00f1ero en 2 Tesalonicenses (\u201cEl que no quiera trabajar, que tampoco coma\u201d), es uno de los \u201cpasajes dif\u00edciles\u201d para las personas de fe ansiosas por inspirar a otros a responder al hambre y la pobreza. Estos vers\u00edculos problem\u00e1ticos a menudo se usan para apoyar pol\u00edticas y pr\u00e1cticas restrictivas y contraintuitivas que inhiben el progreso real contra el hambre y la pobreza. \u00bfPor qu\u00e9 esforzarse m\u00e1s para acabar con el hambre y la pobreza si incluso Jes\u00fas dice que la pobreza no va a desaparecer?<\/p>\n
El pasaje brinda m\u00e1s cuando cavamos un poco m\u00e1s profundo. En realidad, Jes\u00fas podr\u00eda estar refiri\u00e9ndose aqu\u00ed a una parte anterior de la Biblia, y en ese vers\u00edculo anterior las palabras no son una declaraci\u00f3n de hechos, sino un desaf\u00edo al pueblo de Dios. El vers\u00edculo aparece en una secci\u00f3n de Deuteronomio sobre el a\u00f1o del jubileo, un tiempo cada siete a\u00f1os en que las deudas eran perdonadas. Ese pasaje anterior arroja nueva luz sobre el vers\u00edculo de Juan:<\/p>\n
Gente pobre en esta tierra, siempre la habr\u00e1; por eso te ordeno que seas generoso con tus hermanos hebreos y con los pobres y necesitados de tu tierra\u201d (Deuteronomio 15:11).<\/em><\/p>\nLejos de resignarnos a la pobreza en el mundo, el vers\u00edculo desaf\u00eda a los seguidores de Cristo. En su comentario sobre Deuteronomio, Mart\u00edn Lutero escribe: \u201c\u2018El pobre siempre lo tienen con ustedes\u2019, as\u00ed como tendr\u00e1n todos los dem\u00e1s males. Pero se debe tener el cuidado constante de que, dado que estos males siempre son evidentes, siempre se les presente oposici\u00f3n\u201d.<\/p>\n
Para Lutero, \u201ca los pobres siempre los tendr\u00e1n con ustedes\u201d significaba ser siempre confrontado por el llamado de Dios a responder al sufrimiento humano y oponerse al mal que lo causa. Esto no es resignaci\u00f3n sino activaci\u00f3n del pueblo de Dios al servicio del pr\u00f3jimo.<\/p>\n
Lo que es m\u00e1s, en las palabras de Jes\u00fas podemos encontrar una lecci\u00f3n para nuestra identidad como iglesia juntos. \u201cA los pobres siempre los tendr\u00e1n con ustedes\u201d. Si realmente somos el pueblo de Dios, entonces estamos llamados a estar en comunidad con los vecinos que han sido marginados, excluidos, oprimidos y empobrecidos por la injusticia del mundo.<\/p>\n
Como iglesia, nuestro llamado no es simplemente ministrar a nuestro pr\u00f3jimo, sino dar testimonio de \u201calgo nuevo\u201d que Dios est\u00e1 haciendo en nuestro mundo, una nueva comunidad que Dios est\u00e1 haciendo posible. Este no es un trabajo f\u00e1cil. Enfrentar el hambre y la pobreza junto a nuestro pr\u00f3jimo significa enfrentar las peligrosas realidades que afectan a nuestros vecinos.<\/p>\n
En Palestina, Defense of Children International\u2013Palestine (DCIP) [Defensa Internacional para los Ni\u00f1os de Palestina], con el apoyo de ELCA World Hunger, trabaja con ni\u00f1os y familias para proteger sus derechos y brindarles la atenci\u00f3n y el apoyo que necesitan. La expansi\u00f3n de los asentamientos en la Ribera Occidental y el aumento de la presencia militar en la vida cotidiana ponen a los ni\u00f1os en riesgo de encuentros negativos con las fuerzas israel\u00edes. Los ni\u00f1os detenidos por violar las leyes a menudo discriminatorias de la ocupaci\u00f3n israel\u00ed corren el riesgo de sufrir abusos tanto por parte de las fuerzas israel\u00edes como de las palestinas. A pesar de la importante reforma legal de los \u00faltimos a\u00f1os, el DCIP ha descubierto que las pr\u00e1cticas a\u00fan no se han alineado plenamente con los marcos jur\u00eddicos nacionales o internacionales para la justicia de menores, y que los ni\u00f1os est\u00e1n pagando el precio, navegando por un sistema legal militar que no cumple con las m\u00ednimas normas internacionales, particularmente para los menores.<\/p>\n
DCIP da apoyo legal y social a los ni\u00f1os acusados de delitos y trabaja con sus familias \u2014muchas de las cuales viven en la pobreza\u2014 para mejorar emocional, social y financieramente sus situaciones a trav\u00e9s de la capacitaci\u00f3n vocacional, el apoyo de los trabajadores sociales y m\u00e1s. Este apoyo es fundamental para atacar las causas profundas del hambre y la pobreza en Palestina.<\/p>\n
Responder al hambre significa acompa\u00f1ar a los vecinos mientras enfrentan los sistemas de injusticia que crean hambre. Significa hacer frente a realidades duras con perspectivas realistas. Este no es el falso \u201crealismo\u201d que tergiversa las palabras de Jes\u00fas en el Evangelio, sino el reconocimiento realista de que enfrentamos nuestra propia jornada en el desierto antes de alcanzar la plenitud de la promesa de Dios.\u00a0 Amigos, nos queda un largo camino por recorrer.<\/p>\n
Y sin embargo\u2026 y sin embargo\u2026<\/p>\n
Como hemos visto a lo largo de nuestra jornada cuaresmal, no vamos solos. Dios est\u00e1 con nosotros en el camino, inspirando esperanza y valent\u00eda y revel\u00e1ndose a s\u00ed mismo en los vecinos que encontramos en el camino. Sabemos que esta jornada cuaresmal no es el fin. Las disciplinas espirituales de ayuno, oraci\u00f3n y autorreflexi\u00f3n de la temporada nos preparan para el camino por delante, el camino que conduce a la cruz; y m\u00e1s all\u00e1, a una nueva comunidad que Dios hace posible.<\/p>\n
No es un camino f\u00e1cil de recorrer. Pero sabemos que, incluso en medio de los desaf\u00edos que tenemos por delante, el \u201calgo nuevo\u201d que Dios est\u00e1 haciendo \u201cbrota\u201d, que Dios incluso ahora est\u00e1 trabajando para \u201cabrir un camino en el desierto y r\u00edos en lugares desolados\u201d (Isa\u00edas 43:19).<\/p>\n
\u00bfNo se dan cuenta?<\/p>\n
Preguntas para la reflexi\u00f3n<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- \u00bfQu\u00e9 significa para la iglesia que \u201ca los pobres siempre los tendremos con nosotros\u201d? \u00bfC\u00f3mo podr\u00edamos replantearnos las palabras de Jes\u00fas a la luz de la sesi\u00f3n de estudio de esta semana?<\/li>\n
- \u00bfDe qu\u00e9 maneras act\u00faa su congregaci\u00f3n como el pr\u00f3jimo de las personas necesitadas en su comunidad?<\/li>\n
- \u00bfPor qu\u00e9 est\u00e1 llamada la iglesia a trabajar por la justicia en el mundo? \u00bfQu\u00e9 podr\u00eda ense\u00f1arnos la obra de DCI-Palestina en lo que respecta a ser el pueblo de Dios?<\/li>\n
- \u00bfC\u00f3mo puede la iglesia inspirar esperanza cuando el futuro prometido puede parecer tan lejano?<\/li>\n
- \u00bfD\u00f3nde est\u00e1 llamando Dios a su congregaci\u00f3n y a usted a estar hoy? \u00bfC\u00f3mo puede ser o ser\u00e1 parte del \u201calgo nuevo\u201d del que Dios est\u00e1 hablando?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Oraci\u00f3n<\/strong><\/p>\nDios de la viuda pobre, de la oveja perdida y del arameo errante, Dios del hambriento, el sediento y el extranjero, Dios del desnudo, el enfermo y el encarcelado:<\/p>\n
Confesamos ante ti que la iglesia no siempre ha estado donde nos has llamado a estar. No hemos podido buscar tu rostro en nuestros vecinos necesitados. Hemos permitido que la desesperaci\u00f3n nos ate las manos y los pies. C\u00e1mbianos, oh Dios. Lib\u00e9ranos para actuar con esperanza y valent\u00eda.<\/p>\n
Abre nuestros corazones para percibir tu presencia en nuestros vecinos y entre ellos. Enci\u00e9ndenos con santa pasi\u00f3n por el trabajo al que nos invitas en el mundo. Sopla nueva vida a tu iglesia, para que podamos ser las personas que nos llamas a ser en el mundo que llamas a ser:<\/p>\n
Una iglesia de la viuda pobre, la oveja perdida y el arameo errante. Una iglesia del hambriento, el sediento y el extranjero.<\/p>\n
Una iglesia del desnudo, el enfermo y el encarcelado. Haz \u201calgo nuevo\u201d con nosotros y a trav\u00e9s de nosotros, para que podamos ser una comunidad de esperanza, consuelo y bienvenida; una se\u00f1al viva del camino que est\u00e1s abriendo en el desierto. Am\u00e9n.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ELCA World Hunger’s 40 Days of Giving Lent 2022 In English and en Espanol Week 5: A Way in the Wilderness \u201cDo you not perceive it?\u201d (Isaiah 43:19) Read Isaiah 43:16-21 Psalm 126 Philippians 3:4b-14 John 12:1-8 Reflect Each of the sessions of this Lenten study has been grounded in a verse from this week\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":191,"featured_media":5439,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[51,179,112,69,58,60,57,324,1014,76,17545],"class_list":["post-5497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-post","tag-advocacy","tag-anti-poverty","tag-children","tag-elca-world-hunger","tag-hunger","tag-lent","tag-lent-resources","tag-luther","tag-martin-luther","tag-poverty","tag-poverty-and-justice"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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Reflect<\/h4>\n
Each of the sessions of this Lenten study has been grounded in a verse from this week\u2019s readings:<\/p>\n
I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert (Isaiah 43:19).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
From the first-fruits offering of Deuteronomy to the teaching of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke, our reflections have pointed to how God continues to \u201cmake a way in the wilderness\u201d and calls us to be part of that journey for ourselves and our neighbors. The Scripture readings this season remind us of the promise of new life in Canaan for our ancestors and new life in Christ for us all.<\/p>\n
We have imagined a world without hunger, heard of God\u2019s abundant provision of manna and seen the ways the church has worked tirelessly, in the past and today, to end hunger.<\/p>\n
Now we reach the culmination of this movement toward the fulfillment of God\u2019s promise, wherein Jesus announces: \u201cYou will always have the poor among you\u201d (John 12:8 NIV).<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not the most encouraging verse in the Bible.<\/p>\n
How often have people twisted these words into an excuse for passivity or a sneering retort to proclamations of hope that hunger and poverty can, one day, end? Along with its partner in 2 Thessalonians (\u201cAnyone unwilling to work should not eat\u201d), it\u2019s one of the \u201chard passages\u201d for people of faith eager to inspire others to respond to hunger and poverty. These troublesome verses are often used to support restrictive, counterintuitive policies and practices that inhibit real progress against hunger and poverty. Why try harder to end hunger and poverty if even Jesus says poverty isn’t going away?<\/p>\n
The passage yields more when we dig a little deeper. Jesus may actually be referring to an earlier part of the Bible here, and in that earlier verse the words are no statement of fact but a challenge to the people of God. The verse appears in a section of Deuteronomy about the Jubilee Year, a time every seven years when debts were forgiven. That earlier passage sheds new light on the verse from John:<\/p>\n
Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, \u201cOpen your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land\u201d (Deuteronomy 15:11).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Far from resigning us to poverty in the world, the verse challenges followers of Christ. In his commentary on Deuteronomy, Martin Luther writes, \u201c\u2018The poor you always have with you,\u2019 just as you will have all other evils. But constant care should be taken that, since these evils are always in evidence, they are always opposed.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Luther, to \u201calways have the poor among you\u201d meant to be confronted always by God\u2019s call to respond to human suffering and oppose the evil that creates it. This is not resignation but activation of the people of God in the service of the neighbor.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s more, we may find in Jesus\u2019 words a lesson for our identity as church together. \u201cYou will always have the poor among you.\u201d If we are truly the
\npeople of God, then we are called to be in community with neighbors who have been marginalized, excluded, oppressed and impoverished by the world\u2019s injustice.<\/p>\nAs church, our calling is not merely to minister to our neighbors but to bear witness to the \u201cnew thing\u201d God is doing in our world, a new community God is making possible. This is not easy work. Confronting hunger and poverty alongside our neighbors means facing the dangerous realities that impact our neighbors.<\/p>\n
In Palestine, Defense of Children International\u2013Palestine (DCIP), supported by ELCA World Hunger, works with children and families to protect their rights and give them the care and support they need. Settlement expansion in the West Bank and increased military presence in daily life put children at risk of negative encounters with Israeli forces. Children detained for
\nviolating the often-discriminatory laws of Israeli occupation risk abuse from both Israeli and Palestinian forces. Despite significant legal reform in recent years, DCIP has found that practices have yet to fully align with domestic or international legal frameworks for juvenile justice and that children are paying the price, navigating a military legal system that fails to meet the minimum international standards, particularly for juveniles.<\/p>\nDCIP provides both legal and social support for children accused of crimes, and it works with their families, many of whom live in poverty, to improve their situations emotionally, socially and financially through vocational training, the support of social workers and more. This support is critical to addressing the root causes of hunger and poverty in Palestine.<\/p>\n
Responding to hunger means accompanying neighbors as they confront the systems of injustice that create hunger. It means facing harsh realities with realistic perspectives. This is not the false \u201crealism\u201d that twists Jesus\u2019 words in the Gospel but the realistic acknowledgement that we face our own journey in the wilderness before we reach the fullness of God\u2019s promise. Friends, we have a long way to go.<\/p>\n
And yet \u2026 and yet \u2026<\/p>\n
As we have seen throughout our Lenten journey, we are not going it alone. God is with us along the way, inspiring hope and courage and revealing Godself in the neighbors we encounter along the way. We know that this Lenten journey is not the end. The season\u2019s fasting, praying and selfreflecting spiritual disciplines prepare us for the road ahead, the road that leads to the cross \u2014 and beyond, to a new community God makes possible.<\/p>\n
This is not an easy road to travel. But we know that, even amid the challenges ahead, the \u201cnew thing\u201d God is doing \u201csprings forth,\u201d that God is even now working to \u201cmake a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert\u201d (Isaiah 43:19).<\/p>\n
Do you not perceive it?<\/p>\n
Ask<\/h4>\n
\n
- What does it mean for the church to \u201calways have the poor” with us? How might we rethink Jesus\u2019 words in light of the study session for this week?<\/li>\n
- In what ways does your congregation act as a neighbor toward people in need in your community?<\/li>\n
- Why is the church called to work for justice in the world? What might the work of DCI-Palestine teach us about being the people of God?<\/li>\n
- How can the church inspire hope when the promised future can seem so far away?<\/li>\n
- Where is God calling you and your congregation to be today? How can or will you be part of the \u201cnew thing” God is calling forth?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Pray<\/h4>\n
God of the poor widow, the lost sheep, and the wandering Aramean,
\nGod of the hungry, the thirsty, and the stranger,
\nGod of the naked, the ill, and the imprisoned,<\/p>\nWe confess before you that the church has not always been where
\nyou have called us to be. We have failed to seek your face in our
\nneighbors in need. We have allowed despair to bind our hands and
\nfeet. Change us, O God. Free us to act with hope and courage.<\/p>\nOpen our hearts to perceive your presence in and among our
\nneighbors. Inflame us with holy passion for the work you invite us
\nto in the world. Breathe new life into your church, that we may be
\nthe people you call us to be in the world you call into being:<\/p>\nA church of the poor widow, the lost sheep and the wandering Aramean.
\nA church of the hungry, the thirsty and the stranger.
\nA church of the naked, the ill and the imprisoned.<\/p>\nDo a \u201cnew thing\u201d with us and through us, that we may be a
\ncommunity of hope, comfort and welcome \u2014 a living sign of the
\nway we are making in the wilderness. Amen.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
SEMANA 5: Un camino en el desierto<\/strong><\/p>\n
\u201c\u00bfNo se dan cuenta?\u201d (Isa\u00edas 43:19).
\nLecturas: Isa\u00edas 43:16-21, Salmo 126, Filipenses 3:4b-14, Juan 12:1-8<\/p>\nCada una de las sesiones de este estudio de Cuaresma se ha basado en un vers\u00edculo de las lecturas de esta semana:<\/p>\n
\u00a1Voy a hacer algo nuevo! Ya est\u00e1 sucediendo, \u00bfno se dan cuenta? Estoy abriendo un camino en el desierto, y r\u00edos en lugares desolados (Isa\u00edas 43:19).<\/em><\/p>\n
Desde la ofrenda de primicias de Deuteronomio, hasta la ense\u00f1anza de Jes\u00fas en el Evangelio de Lucas, nuestras reflexiones han se\u00f1alado c\u00f3mo Dios contin\u00faa \u201cabriendo un camino en el desierto\u201d y nos llama a ser parte de esa jornada para nosotros y nuestro pr\u00f3jimo. Las lecturas b\u00edblicas de esta temporada nos recuerdan la promesa de una nueva vida en Cana\u00e1n para nuestros antepasados y una nueva vida en Cristo para todos nosotros.<\/p>\n
Hemos imaginado un mundo sin hambre, hemos o\u00eddo hablar de la abundante provisi\u00f3n que Dios hizo de man\u00e1, y hemos visto las formas en que la iglesia ha trabajado incansablemente, en el pasado y en la actualidad, para acabar con el hambre.<\/p>\n
Ahora llegamos a la culminaci\u00f3n de este movimiento hacia el cumplimiento de la promesa de Dios, en la que Jes\u00fas anuncia: \u201cA los pobres siempre los tendr\u00e1n con ustedes\u201d (Juan 12:8 NVI).<\/p>\n
Este no es el vers\u00edculo m\u00e1s alentador de la Biblia.<\/p>\n
\u00bfCu\u00e1ntas veces la gente ha tergiversado estas palabras en una excusa para la pasividad o una r\u00e9plica burlona a las proclamas de esperanza de que el hambre y la pobreza pueden, alg\u00fan d\u00eda, terminar? Junto con su vers\u00edculo compa\u00f1ero en 2 Tesalonicenses (\u201cEl que no quiera trabajar, que tampoco coma\u201d), es uno de los \u201cpasajes dif\u00edciles\u201d para las personas de fe ansiosas por inspirar a otros a responder al hambre y la pobreza. Estos vers\u00edculos problem\u00e1ticos a menudo se usan para apoyar pol\u00edticas y pr\u00e1cticas restrictivas y contraintuitivas que inhiben el progreso real contra el hambre y la pobreza. \u00bfPor qu\u00e9 esforzarse m\u00e1s para acabar con el hambre y la pobreza si incluso Jes\u00fas dice que la pobreza no va a desaparecer?<\/p>\n
El pasaje brinda m\u00e1s cuando cavamos un poco m\u00e1s profundo. En realidad, Jes\u00fas podr\u00eda estar refiri\u00e9ndose aqu\u00ed a una parte anterior de la Biblia, y en ese vers\u00edculo anterior las palabras no son una declaraci\u00f3n de hechos, sino un desaf\u00edo al pueblo de Dios. El vers\u00edculo aparece en una secci\u00f3n de Deuteronomio sobre el a\u00f1o del jubileo, un tiempo cada siete a\u00f1os en que las deudas eran perdonadas. Ese pasaje anterior arroja nueva luz sobre el vers\u00edculo de Juan:<\/p>\n
Gente pobre en esta tierra, siempre la habr\u00e1; por eso te ordeno que seas generoso con tus hermanos hebreos y con los pobres y necesitados de tu tierra\u201d (Deuteronomio 15:11).<\/em><\/p>\n
Lejos de resignarnos a la pobreza en el mundo, el vers\u00edculo desaf\u00eda a los seguidores de Cristo. En su comentario sobre Deuteronomio, Mart\u00edn Lutero escribe: \u201c\u2018El pobre siempre lo tienen con ustedes\u2019, as\u00ed como tendr\u00e1n todos los dem\u00e1s males. Pero se debe tener el cuidado constante de que, dado que estos males siempre son evidentes, siempre se les presente oposici\u00f3n\u201d.<\/p>\n
Para Lutero, \u201ca los pobres siempre los tendr\u00e1n con ustedes\u201d significaba ser siempre confrontado por el llamado de Dios a responder al sufrimiento humano y oponerse al mal que lo causa. Esto no es resignaci\u00f3n sino activaci\u00f3n del pueblo de Dios al servicio del pr\u00f3jimo.<\/p>\n
Lo que es m\u00e1s, en las palabras de Jes\u00fas podemos encontrar una lecci\u00f3n para nuestra identidad como iglesia juntos. \u201cA los pobres siempre los tendr\u00e1n con ustedes\u201d. Si realmente somos el pueblo de Dios, entonces estamos llamados a estar en comunidad con los vecinos que han sido marginados, excluidos, oprimidos y empobrecidos por la injusticia del mundo.<\/p>\n
Como iglesia, nuestro llamado no es simplemente ministrar a nuestro pr\u00f3jimo, sino dar testimonio de \u201calgo nuevo\u201d que Dios est\u00e1 haciendo en nuestro mundo, una nueva comunidad que Dios est\u00e1 haciendo posible. Este no es un trabajo f\u00e1cil. Enfrentar el hambre y la pobreza junto a nuestro pr\u00f3jimo significa enfrentar las peligrosas realidades que afectan a nuestros vecinos.<\/p>\n
En Palestina, Defense of Children International\u2013Palestine (DCIP) [Defensa Internacional para los Ni\u00f1os de Palestina], con el apoyo de ELCA World Hunger, trabaja con ni\u00f1os y familias para proteger sus derechos y brindarles la atenci\u00f3n y el apoyo que necesitan. La expansi\u00f3n de los asentamientos en la Ribera Occidental y el aumento de la presencia militar en la vida cotidiana ponen a los ni\u00f1os en riesgo de encuentros negativos con las fuerzas israel\u00edes. Los ni\u00f1os detenidos por violar las leyes a menudo discriminatorias de la ocupaci\u00f3n israel\u00ed corren el riesgo de sufrir abusos tanto por parte de las fuerzas israel\u00edes como de las palestinas. A pesar de la importante reforma legal de los \u00faltimos a\u00f1os, el DCIP ha descubierto que las pr\u00e1cticas a\u00fan no se han alineado plenamente con los marcos jur\u00eddicos nacionales o internacionales para la justicia de menores, y que los ni\u00f1os est\u00e1n pagando el precio, navegando por un sistema legal militar que no cumple con las m\u00ednimas normas internacionales, particularmente para los menores.<\/p>\n
DCIP da apoyo legal y social a los ni\u00f1os acusados de delitos y trabaja con sus familias \u2014muchas de las cuales viven en la pobreza\u2014 para mejorar emocional, social y financieramente sus situaciones a trav\u00e9s de la capacitaci\u00f3n vocacional, el apoyo de los trabajadores sociales y m\u00e1s. Este apoyo es fundamental para atacar las causas profundas del hambre y la pobreza en Palestina.<\/p>\n
Responder al hambre significa acompa\u00f1ar a los vecinos mientras enfrentan los sistemas de injusticia que crean hambre. Significa hacer frente a realidades duras con perspectivas realistas. Este no es el falso \u201crealismo\u201d que tergiversa las palabras de Jes\u00fas en el Evangelio, sino el reconocimiento realista de que enfrentamos nuestra propia jornada en el desierto antes de alcanzar la plenitud de la promesa de Dios.\u00a0 Amigos, nos queda un largo camino por recorrer.<\/p>\n
Y sin embargo\u2026 y sin embargo\u2026<\/p>\n
Como hemos visto a lo largo de nuestra jornada cuaresmal, no vamos solos. Dios est\u00e1 con nosotros en el camino, inspirando esperanza y valent\u00eda y revel\u00e1ndose a s\u00ed mismo en los vecinos que encontramos en el camino. Sabemos que esta jornada cuaresmal no es el fin. Las disciplinas espirituales de ayuno, oraci\u00f3n y autorreflexi\u00f3n de la temporada nos preparan para el camino por delante, el camino que conduce a la cruz; y m\u00e1s all\u00e1, a una nueva comunidad que Dios hace posible.<\/p>\n
No es un camino f\u00e1cil de recorrer. Pero sabemos que, incluso en medio de los desaf\u00edos que tenemos por delante, el \u201calgo nuevo\u201d que Dios est\u00e1 haciendo \u201cbrota\u201d, que Dios incluso ahora est\u00e1 trabajando para \u201cabrir un camino en el desierto y r\u00edos en lugares desolados\u201d (Isa\u00edas 43:19).<\/p>\n
\u00bfNo se dan cuenta?<\/p>\n
Preguntas para la reflexi\u00f3n<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n
- \u00bfQu\u00e9 significa para la iglesia que \u201ca los pobres siempre los tendremos con nosotros\u201d? \u00bfC\u00f3mo podr\u00edamos replantearnos las palabras de Jes\u00fas a la luz de la sesi\u00f3n de estudio de esta semana?<\/li>\n
- \u00bfDe qu\u00e9 maneras act\u00faa su congregaci\u00f3n como el pr\u00f3jimo de las personas necesitadas en su comunidad?<\/li>\n
- \u00bfPor qu\u00e9 est\u00e1 llamada la iglesia a trabajar por la justicia en el mundo? \u00bfQu\u00e9 podr\u00eda ense\u00f1arnos la obra de DCI-Palestina en lo que respecta a ser el pueblo de Dios?<\/li>\n
- \u00bfC\u00f3mo puede la iglesia inspirar esperanza cuando el futuro prometido puede parecer tan lejano?<\/li>\n
- \u00bfD\u00f3nde est\u00e1 llamando Dios a su congregaci\u00f3n y a usted a estar hoy? \u00bfC\u00f3mo puede ser o ser\u00e1 parte del \u201calgo nuevo\u201d del que Dios est\u00e1 hablando?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Oraci\u00f3n<\/strong><\/p>\n
Dios de la viuda pobre, de la oveja perdida y del arameo errante, Dios del hambriento, el sediento y el extranjero, Dios del desnudo, el enfermo y el encarcelado:<\/p>\n
Confesamos ante ti que la iglesia no siempre ha estado donde nos has llamado a estar. No hemos podido buscar tu rostro en nuestros vecinos necesitados. Hemos permitido que la desesperaci\u00f3n nos ate las manos y los pies. C\u00e1mbianos, oh Dios. Lib\u00e9ranos para actuar con esperanza y valent\u00eda.<\/p>\n
Abre nuestros corazones para percibir tu presencia en nuestros vecinos y entre ellos. Enci\u00e9ndenos con santa pasi\u00f3n por el trabajo al que nos invitas en el mundo. Sopla nueva vida a tu iglesia, para que podamos ser las personas que nos llamas a ser en el mundo que llamas a ser:<\/p>\n
Una iglesia de la viuda pobre, la oveja perdida y el arameo errante. Una iglesia del hambriento, el sediento y el extranjero.<\/p>\n
Una iglesia del desnudo, el enfermo y el encarcelado. Haz \u201calgo nuevo\u201d con nosotros y a trav\u00e9s de nosotros, para que podamos ser una comunidad de esperanza, consuelo y bienvenida; una se\u00f1al viva del camino que est\u00e1s abriendo en el desierto. Am\u00e9n.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ELCA World Hunger’s 40 Days of Giving Lent 2022 In English and en Espanol Week 5: A Way in the Wilderness \u201cDo you not perceive it?\u201d (Isaiah 43:19) Read Isaiah 43:16-21 Psalm 126 Philippians 3:4b-14 John 12:1-8 Reflect Each of the sessions of this Lenten study has been grounded in a verse from this week\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":191,"featured_media":5439,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[51,179,112,69,58,60,57,324,1014,76,17545],"class_list":["post-5497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-post","tag-advocacy","tag-anti-poverty","tag-children","tag-elca-world-hunger","tag-hunger","tag-lent","tag-lent-resources","tag-luther","tag-martin-luther","tag-poverty","tag-poverty-and-justice"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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