Sunday Service with communion is held on Sunday, September 8 at 10 am.   Sunday School will start this Sunday.  Coffee and fellowship after the service.

Here are Rev. Marlene’s notes on the reflection for Sunday.

“Do not exploit the poor because they are poor and do not crush the needy in court, for the Lord will take up their case and will exact life for life.”         Proverbs 22:22-23

This week’s lectionary passage from Proverbs shines a light on the exploitative personality of humankind. A person who uses people for their own ends. Someone who sees people as objects to be used, rather than as children of God to be respected and cherished. History has many instances of “humankind’s inhumanity towards one another,” often stemming from a lack of regard for the rights and value of others.

There is nothing commendable in one individual exploiting another. Evil enters the picture, when individuals are exploited by groups, or when a state treats its’ citizens only as objects to be used for the glorification of the Nation. Proverbs accurately defines the underlying equality among people, which is the basis for fairness and justice before the Law, which speaks against all forms of exploitation.

The Wisdom Teachers, or “the wise,” who wrote the Book of Proverbs, further stated that those who have been exploited will be defended by God. God helps those who cannot help themselves. When human beings are exploited, an offence against God is committed, as each person is precious in God’s eyes and is created by God as God’s child, not as an object to be used. I find it rather tragic that even though scholars believe that the over 500 proverbs, which are contained in this work, were written sometime in 715-687 B.C. that their legacy continues to be repeated in our world today.