The story of Job the Aramean is still playing out in the world today, minus the challenge between God and Satan.

Consider those who were extremely rich last year but are now literally on the pavement. Look at the many, who saved for a rainy day, and got blindsided by a perfect financial storm.

Well constructed retirement plans are now worth less than the ink on the printed page.

The 'nouveau riches' have become the latest poor.

In this state of affairs it is worth considering if any instruments are safe and secure these days. Are there investments that are viable? Can anyone be trusted now that financial investors messed things up so badly?

Where is God in the midst of our financial calamities?

The challenge this time around between investors and slick financial gurus dabbling in derivatives has sent many on the road to sheer incalculable poverty. The calamities multiply with every mass layoff by manufacturing industries, and skyrocketing mortgage defaults.

Where is hope in the midst of a seemingly bleak and hopeless situation?

The chronically poor have now descended into the third basement of abject poverty. They can no longer see the rungs of the ladder to go back up. They would like to pull themselves up by the straps of their boots. They have no boots. Children, the most disadvantaged of all citizens, in some cases, go to bed hungry and wake up hungry.

Where, I say, is hope?

Hope, one of the most beautiful words of the English language, is not a psychological construct. Hope is not a human invention. Hope is God's gift to the world, to all people on this side of eternity. Hope will be always present as long as the world endures. Hope is that which endures. Hope is that which enables us to see through the muddy waters we create.

So where is hope in the midst of this financial conundrum?

Hope is where it has always been. It exists no matter how painful, how debilitating the effects of this colossal financial nightmare. All hope rests in God. Because God is, so is hope. The ascent from a catastrophic pit may be arduous and painful, but with hope undergirded by trust in the Divine, we will prevail.

Collectively, we will see the light of the noonday. We will embrace the dawn of a new age as long as we hold on to the hand of hope. For, hope is braced by the 'One who created us all, called us by name and holds us in the palms of God's hands.' So let us marshal our resolves to be a people of hope. Let us turn our attention toward each other and others. This is a quintessential opportunity to pay attention to the other, to be agents of change.

As stewards of the created order; as wardens of the natural wonders of all life on the planet, it is our time to rise and shine; to stand and care for the diminishing resources of this shrinking world we live in.

It is time to build and not break down. It is time to give and not hold back. It is time to be neighborly to the world and not just to those around us. It is time to embrace the poor and the needy in our midst, and no longer see them as part of the landscape.

Nature depends on its caretakers--us. We can no longer outsource our responsibilities to the creation we have inherited. We can no longer buy into the notion that 'greed is good'. Greed is a vice and not a virtue. Greed tears down the very fabric of humanity. It breaks down and does not build up.

Greed takes and does not give back. Greed ignores and does not notice others. Greed pays no attention to warnings. Greedy people personify the internet cliché that says: "If I like it, it's mine. If I can take it away from you, it's mine. If I had it a while ago, it's mine. If I say it is mine, it's mine. If it looks like mine, it's mine. If I saw it first, it's mine. If you're having fun with it, it's definitely mine. If you lay it down, it's mine. If it is broken, it's yours."