“Show Concern For Marginalized And Disenfranchised!”

“Show Concern For Marginalised And Disenfranchised Persons!”(Dt.24:17-22).
LORD God Almighty, as I step into a new day and week, this is all I ask of you:“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy…”(Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi).
The first topic I proposed for my M Th. dissertation was on widowhood. The treatment of widows was such a concern to me because I witnessed firsthand the ordeals my mothers went through when my father died. Unfortunately, my mentors rejected the topic on the grounds that during fieldwork, I would not be allowed as a man to see some of the widowhood rites and rituals performed on widows.
My father died when I was 16 years old. By the way, on Tuesday 16th September, I will be celebrating my 66th birthday. Join me to thank God for this milestone movement to home going😂😂.
If my mothers suffered the ordeals of widowhood fifty years ago, it means I came to know what it means to be an orphan fifty years ago.
The LORD whom we serve is so particular about the fate of widows and orphans and strangers, too. Today, we may add to the above category of people all marginalized, disenfranchised, and less privileged persons. God is very concerned about them. This is the depth of the impartiality of God.
We do not want to go into the polemics of whether experience is the best teacher or not, but it is expected that the lessons of the past should help you improve on present realities.
All over the world, so many people are harassed, molested and dehumanised because they are strangers in foreign lands. This should not be – especially in Christian and Judaic dominated countries!
Widows, orphans, and strangers are a special concern to God. Let us learn to show impartial love to those who are inferior to us by our estimation.
The LORD “… defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.”(Dt.10:18-19).
The LORD told Israel, and by extension, he is telling us, “Do not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this. When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this”
Prayer of the day and week: Holy Spirit, help us daily not to deprive marginalised and disenfranchised persons of justice and to love impartially. Amen!
Welcome to a new working day and week! Have a blessed day and week!
Rev Babila Fochang.
15/09/2025.