God’s blessings are showered on all, especially the forsaken, in a manifestation that the Creator is also the Savior (Psalm 68:4-5, 6-7, 10-11). Those humble of heart are the ones truly capable of receiving God’s undeserved gifts (Luke 14:1, 7-14).
You have made a home for the poor
Psalm 68 is a hymn of victory and its selected verses begin with a description of the praise God receives from the just. The righteous are joyful, jubilant and exultant before the Lord, emphasizing the extent of the delight they have in God, before whom and in whose presence they gather in cultic celebration. The call to sing praise refers to God’s holy name, hence to make music in His honor. Then the psalmist depicts two different images of God in history and in creation: first, as the protector of the vulnerable and, second, as the creator and source of life.
Portrayed as the father of orphans and the defender of widows, God is clearly the covenant partner of the chosen people whose two most vulnerable members are the orphans and widows, categories of people in a patriarchal society who have no protection. The Lord is their paternal protector. And in the Promised Land, God gives His desolate people a home to live in, and later from captivity He leads them as prisoners back home to prosperity. And upon His people as His inheritance, God with might as Creator rains down abundant life-giving water, so that the land given to His people may flourish and they as His flock who settle there may be prosperous. In His power as creator and in His goodness as protector of the poor, God has indeed provided the land for the needy.
Divine goodness to the marginalized
Invited to eat the Sabbath meal in the house of one of the Pharisees following the synagogue service, Jesus is both the observed and an observer. His keen observation are bits of wisdom for all to hear and to keep. The jockeying among the guests for seats of honor near the host reminded him of the Old Testament admonition: “Claim no honor in the king’s presence, nor occupy the place of great men, for it is better that you be told, “Come up closer!” than that you be humbled before the prince” (Proverbs 25:6-7).
But more vital than etiquette and social status in the eyes of others is good standing before God. The widespread practice of inviting the rich and the famous to one’s affairs in order to add to one’s honor, or choosing one’s own types who could and would return the favor by inviting you in turn to their own homes and celebrations is a social give-and-take that for Jesus misses the opportunity for what really one needs to be doing. Jesus drives home the point with the shocking proposal that one invites the poor, the handicapped and the likes who cannot possibly reciprocate the favor nor add luster to one’s affairs, but which reflects divine goodness to the marginalized (Luke 4:18; Isaiah 61:1-2).
Alálaong bagá, the person who brashly asserts his own importance over and against others in a world of man-eat-man may indeed get his reward, though dubious and fleeting because there will always be someone else more ambitious and pretentious. But the person who lives in truth recognizes the greatness of God, as well as his own lowliness and need. God’s exquisite generosity is both boundless and universal; His blessings showered on all like the rain. Recipients are the needy and humble ones who have no way to repay the favors given them. To be prodigal in our generosity to others as God does to us is the call of the gospel: to open our hearts and our tables to those who are unable to repay us.
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