Psalm 128
O blessed are those who fear the Lord
and walk in his ways!
By the labour of your hands you shall eat.
You will be happy and prosper;
the wife like a fruitful vine
in the heart of your house;
children like shoots of the olive,
around the table.
Indeed thus shall be blessed
those who fear the Lord.
May the Lord bless you from Zion
all the days of your life!
May you see your children’s children
in a happy Jerusalem!
On Israel, peace!
Reflection
I am focusing on the lovely image of “children like shoots of the olive, around the table” from Psalm 128.
It grieves me to hear about some of the effects that living in poverty has on children in this country.
Perhaps you or someone you know has been a child living in poverty and know what it is like going to bed feeling hungry; to always wear second hand shoes; to know that the people who love you are worried; to keep moving to different schools; sleeping on a mattress on the floor; not going on school trips; feeling cold because the electricity has gone off; wishing Father Christmas would give you the present you wanted and wanting to choose food from a shop, not the food bank.
Perhaps you have been or know someone who is a parent or carer struggling to provide for children and just never seeming to be able to make ends meet.
I am sure that, as a society, we want all our children to be like “shoots of the olive, around the table”. We want them to thrive, to have opportunities which they can take, to feel secure and loved. But unless they have their basic needs supplied it is hard for a child to flourish.
Jesus, in his “Manifesto” in Luke 4 says that he is coming to “bring good news to the poor”.
He also affirmed the commandment that we must love God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind and love our neighbour as ourself.
I believe that, when we worship God and follow Jesus, we are called to be good news to the poor and to love our neighbour. Christian charities concerned about poverty use the phrase – GIVE, ACT, PRAY
May our giving, our actions and our prayers help children to flourish.
Prayer
Loving God,
We pray for all children today.
Especially for children whose lives are blighted by poverty,
We pray for all who have the care and nurture of children.
We pray for ourselves that we may give with generous hearts,
Act with enquiring minds and pray with love.
We pray in the name of Jesus,
Who blessed the children. Amen.