Old Testament
Zechariah 7:9-10
9 “Thus has the LORD of Armies spoken, saying, ‘Execute true judgement, and show kindness and compassion every man to his brother.
10 Don’t oppress the widow, the fatherless, the foreigner, nor the poor; and let none of you devise evil against his brother in your heart.’
New Testament
1 John 3:17-18
17 But whoever has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, then closes his heart of compassion against him, how does God’s love remain in him?
18 My little children, let’s not love in word only, or with the tongue only, but in deed and truth.
Zechariah calls the people of God back to “true justice”: show mercy and compassion; do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the foreigner, or the poor. The prophet does not speak in generalities. He names the ones most likely to be ignored.
John is equally direct. If we have the world’s goods and see a brother or sister in need, yet close our heart, how can God’s love abide in us? Love, he says, must not be only in word, but in deed and in truth.
Energy inequity has a particular cruelty because it hides in ordinary life. A cold house. A parent choosing between heat and food. An older neighbour sitting in one room to save on costs. A family unable to charge a phone, travel to work, keep medicine stored safely. Energy poverty isolates; it shrinks life. These are not abstractions. They are neighbours. Mercy is not optional. Justice means not looking away, even when it is awkward.
Lord, open our eyes and soften our hearts. Give wisdom to those who design support and pricing, that the vulnerable are protected. And teach us, as your Church, to love not only with opinions but with practical mercy, offered with dignity and without shame.