Sermon “Fight for $15: a Living Wage” By Rev Hooker

 “Here it is again, the Great Reversal: many of the first ending up last, and the last first.” Matthew 20:1-16 MSG https://www.bible.com/97/mat.20.1-16.msg Sermon intro: Our notions of justice usually cannot help but be influenced by our circumstances and by our opinions about what we and others deserve. Imagine working 40 hours per week, every single week of the year, and not making enough money to provide your family with essentials such as food, shelter, and transportation. According to a report by the Pew Research Center, more than 1.5 million hourly workers in the United States earn the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. The minimum wage to afford a two-bedroom rental in 2020 is $23.96 per hour The average full-time minimum worker needs to work at least 97 hours to afford a two-bedroom rental or 79 hours per week to afford a one-bedroom rental, according to the report. When I stood with SC For Ed and the Poor Peoples Campaign last year. I heard stories of single mothers who were schoolteachers who were losing their homes because the salaries were not covering their expenses and student loans. I listen to food workers talk about having to go to work hungry and sick because the $3.45 an hour was not cutting it. I asked myself “Rev Does Jesus Care About living Wages” Self is there anything in the teachings of the bible about fairness Equality and Equity! EQUALITY aims to ensure that everyone gets the same things to enjoy full, healthy lives. On the other hand, EQUITY involves trying to understand and give people what they need, to enjoy healthy lives. Sometimes, these terms are used in an interchangeable manner, which leads to confusion. Equity is a biblical word. It’s the English translation of one of several Hebrew words (miyshor and related words) for “justice”. The word translated “equity” comes from a root which means “straight” or “level.” It’s the same word used in the Isaiah 40 passage “make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God” and “the rough ground shall become level.” Today, we might use equity in the sense of a “level playing field.”