In the ongoing struggle between the haves and have nots, people of faith need to ask, "Does God take sides?" Which does God favor? The Rich? The Poor? Or can God be said to "take sides" at all? How could we begin the search for an answer?
First a caveat. I've long thought there cannot be meaningful dialogue on any issue of faith until the parties involved come to some basically agreed upon understanding of what the word, "God," means. And there are myriad definitions. Eric Rust, my former philosophy professor, illustrated the dilemma thus: A professor was walking down the sidewalk when he passed an alley and overheard a tremendous ruckus from the windows above. Two women were hanging out of their windows, each shouting across the urban abyss from their respective apartments. Each was certain of her rectitude. Neither harbored a doubt as to the self-righteousness of her opinion. Having listened for a moment, the good professor looked to a fellow passer-by and said, "These two will never agree. They argue from different premises."
I've spent more than forty years in search of my own understanding of what the word "God" means. My early church years were spent in the Southern Baptist Church of my parents. Decades later, I describe myself, when I must, as an Episcopalian Tibetan Buddhist with slight Jewish and, to a lesser extent, Hindu leanings, who, on certain days of the week when the wind is right, enjoys reading Native American earth-centered spirituality and other sources to numerous to mention here. The more I've learned the less I'm sure of. To me, that's a good thing. "God" is a big word. And personal experience has taught me that whenever I have the misfortune of meeting anyone who is sure they have definitive knowledge of who and what the word "God" means is to run, not walk, mind you, but flee in haste in another direction. So I gladly accept the ambiguity of the term. As Jesus said to the rich young ruler, "Go thou, and do likewise."
For today, though, I'll stick with Jesus. He had his own distinct view of "God" and wished to broaden his followers understanding. His day was not entirely like our own. Poor equals not so good, not so fortunate, bad. Rich equals good, fortunate. More than a few thought that if you were rich it was a sign of God's favor. Poor, that meant the opposite. God didn't like you very much. Jesus turned this common understanding on it's head.
In Luke's Gospel (6:20-) we find, "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God." Most of us have heard that so long it's lost it's impact. Allow me to help us regain the offensiveness of Jesus. Blessed are you when Bank of America files improper paperwork so they can foreclose on your house a few months sooner than the law allows. Blessed are you when your unemployment benefits run out. Blessed are you when your child is one of the seven living below the poverty line. Blessed are you when you are over fifty-five, out of work for two years, and not likely to ever, and I mean ever get a job making close to what you used to make. Blessed are you when you get evicted from your apartment. Shall I continue?
What's going on here? Well, the most I've ever been able to figure out is that being blessed has something to do with where God, as Jesus understood the word, puts God's primary concerns. To be blessed means to be the object of God's concern, God's interest, the focus of God's benevolent intentions, of grace. I'll be the first to tell you knowing that doesn't keep you from being an object of foreclosure, or pay your electric bill. At least it didn't work for me. What it does mean is that Jesus would like us to know that we're not alone.
There is Presence to sustain us, and, ultimately and most importantly, Presence to help us in the ongoing struggle for economic justice. The kingdom, the Presence, belongs to those who are the most in need of economic justice in an economically lopsided world. There's hope because God cares; at precisely the time your house is being foreclosed on; exactly when it feels like no one in government gives a shit about you or your kids or whether your mom's already inadequate social security is going to become even more inadequate.
As in contrast with the rich. "Woe to you who are rich," he says a couple of sentences later. Enjoy what you've got because it's the only thing you've got and that's pretty much going to be it. Deal with it because God is, apparently, not very pleased with the way you're running things. God is concerned with the poor. The rich, well, not so much...
This gives me a bit of hope, and, I must mischievously confess, more than a little to grin about as I reflect on the fact that I, who just returned from H and R Block, paid more federal taxes than GE, Exxon-Mobil, Bank of America, and quite probably more than a few fat cats sitting in the top two percent of our rich-getting-richer-while-the-poor-get-poorer society.
This on a day when, just after I got up, I walked into the kitchen and for the first time in my nearly sixty years on this earth heard my mother suggest a congressman should be taken into the streets and shot. Mom, it turns out, seems to have taken offense at Congressman Ryan's budget offerings. She was, of course, speaking facetiously. I think. Still, I paused for a moment of thanks that when dad died my cousin took all the guns to his house. Hell hath no furry like a mom who reads congressman Ryan and his Party-of-the-Rich colleagues are going to reduce her Social Security, her Medicare, and worthy social programs like Medicaid and Women Infants and Children. Talk about reading a budget as a moral document! I mean, Jesus Christ!....
Exactly....
What would Jesus, the Jesus who, poor himself, taught that the destitute are blessed and the rich, not so much, have to say about congressman Ryan's budget? Or any budget that favors the wealthy with tax cuts and corporations with zero tax liability while supporting an out of control military/industrial/congressional war machine?
Maybe God, as Jesus understood Her/Him/It does take sides in the sense that God has God's concerns. And for those of us who would try to take Jesus seriously, might that not mean that we should adopt Jesus' concerns as our own? Shouldn't our focus be on caring for the health and well-being of the ninety-eight percent of us who live in that Social Security Medicare Hourly-wage Medicaid and Middle Class enclave called the United States where 27 million are under or unemployed? 50 million without health insurance? public education remains underfunded? corporations get wealthier while their workers still can't get a decent pay raise?
The wealthy are not without hope. St. Paul, writing to Timothy (I Timothy 6-): "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant (Are you listening, Donald?) nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life." Are you listening Mr. Congressman? Mr. Senator? Mr. President?
So much for the unrestrained sins of laiessez-faire capitalism. When the rich young ruler asked what else he could do, Jesus told him to go sell everything he'd accumulated, give the proceeds to poverty relief, and follow him. The story ends there. We're never told whether the young man did, or didn't. Only that he went away sorrowfully, because he had many possessions.
People of faith need to choose. We need to take sides. And it would seem to me that the side we need to take, the concerns we need to adopt as our own political and economic and social agenda are those of Jesus. And in his economy, the rich don't seem to fair very well.
Mahalo, (Feel free to tweet and facebook)
Alan
