"You shall not withhold overnight the wages of your day laborer." Lv.19:11

When I was a boy my father was paid twice a month, and although his wage allowed us to pay our rent and eat, it was very modest. In those months when his second paycheck was withheld over a weekend because the month ended on a Sunday, it was especially difficult for my mother who had to stretch every penny. Every time I read Leviticus I think of my parents and offer a prayer in gratitude for the sacrifices they made for me and my siblings, but I also have a cold anger inside me.

It seems too easy for some rich people, like those who owned the company my dad worked for, to forget the poor, especially if they think the poor are being paid an adequate wage. That they have more than they can ever spend for anything they want does not seem to impact them very deeply. They may even claim that they deserve everything they have since they risked their capital and should be rewarded for the "danger" to which they exposed themselves. This kind of thinking has led our society, in the words of the columnist, Nicholas Kristof, to become more like a banana republic than Nicaragua and Guyana. Today the richest 1% of wage earners in our nation take home more than 24% of the income. In 1976 the richest 1% only earned 9% of the income. The gap between the richest and poorest people in our nation is growing at an alarming rate.

Of course, we can challenge these numbers and resist rethinking about how we treat poor people in our nation, but Leviticus is clear. Do not withhold overnight the wages of your day laborer. Even 3500 years ago, people realized that those who hired themselves out a day a time needed to be treated justly. Today is no different. All of us know people who have been searching for work, without success, for months, even years. All of us know others whose homes are at risk. Lent is a good time to think about these bigger questions and ask God for direction and insight.

Today, pray for those without work and for others who are underpaid.

What do you think are our obligations to the poor as a people of faith?