What comes to your mind when you hear or see the word Alien? Sci-fi movies? E.T.? Not real? Not of the earth – do not belong?Marginalized was the word my Hermeneutics professor used. In Pilipino, marginalised means ‘laylayan ng lipunan.’ (the peripherals of society – those that do not belong). When you push people to the edge of society by not allowing them a place within it, you marginalize them. … Since the late 1920’s marginalise has referred not to a literal edge, but to a powerless position just outside society. Tax collectors, prostitutes, lepers, women, orphans, widows, foreigners, the poor and handicapped, these were the outcasts of society in the OT times and in Jesus’ days. Jesus was criticised by the Pharisees for being friends with them (Luke 7:34-39). In the OT, many Bible passages talk about God being on the side of the aliens. This morning, I read:
Psalm 146:6-8
He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them, he remains faithful forever. He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free, 8 the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
This is a psalm of comfort and assurance not only for the outcasts of society. It is beyond the physical, financial matters, and not belonging to the elite of society. It is about the spiritual impoverishment (poverty) that is at the heart of each human being.
What a comfort and assurance that God is the Maker of all the earth, He holds everything in His hands and He is faithful forever. To be faithful means to be true to His nature – He keeps His promises, He does not change. The world changes all the time. God is constant.
v. 7 He is on the side of the oppressed and suppressed, those treated harshly. He feeds the hungry. He frees those in bondage.
v. 8 He opens the eyes of the blind. He lifts up the humble. He loves the righteous.
v. 9 He looks after the alien, provides for the orphan and the widow (the fatherless and the husbandless).
The Lord is the God that goes against worldly standards to be on the side of those that the world rejects. Why? Because He is faithful, He is righteous. He is against the wicked – therefore He frustrates their ways. Yes, the wicked may seem to be winning and enjoying the good life. But they do not have the final say. Why? Because The Lord reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord. The Maker of heaven and earth, the faithful Lord who reigns forever for all generations, is on the side of the humble and lowly people… the needy and the helpless.
Are you feeling empty? Lost? Blind? Oppressed? Depressed? Suppressed? Have hope, my friend, the Lord God is true to his promises – he is on your side because he loves you and cares for you. Read the Bible and find out. Be no longer the alien as you get to know the God of aliens.
