We live in a curious time.
Our congress can’t pass simple legislation, neither can our state legislature.
Roads and bridges are decaying, transportation
is in decline. Politics seems to drive everything. When the Republican Party was defeated in our
last election, it seems that they resolved not to allow the Democrats to have
any victories at all. So nothing gets
done, not even simple budget proposals that everyone supports. The farm bill has been trimmed of all of the
food stamp sections that have been there for a long time. The effect of all of this is to hurt the poor
to the benefit of the rich. But what
else is new? We have been doing this
kind of thing for a long time. When the
Republican nominee made his speech speaking of the “47 percent,” the people in need,
who drain the resources of the country, many people were horrified at the
callousness of the comment. But this has
been reflected in the policies that his party has pursued.
Care for the
poor and the outcast is firmly ingrained in the Gospel. We are commanded to take care of those who
have nothing. It isn’t our job to judge
them and investigate why they are in poverty.
Their poverty speaks for itself.
Our mission is to do what we can to alleviate their suffering. That isn’t easy. We are the fortunate ones who have been
blessed with many resources. That puts
us in a position to really help those who have very little. But our focus remains on ourselves. Even in our religious decisions, we favor the
rich over the poor. Our windows,
dedicated to those who have provided them, and the plaques on our walls that
celebrate the donors of wealth tell us where our hearts lie. Our problem is with our outreach budgets that
are the first place that we cut when money becomes scarce. It is more important to fix up our buildings
and maintain our worship space and staff than it is to take care of those who
are in need.
This is true
not only in this country, but in most of the world. The majestic cathedrals of Europe were built
by people who needed to work, who found in that work a meaning for their
lives. But in this age, those cathedrals
are often falling apart and the money that is contributed to the benefit of the
church is going to rebuild and refurnish these massive churches rather than
being used to further the mission of the church. The mission of the church becomes secondary
to the buildings and the staffs that show the church to the world. Our religious discussions center around issues
such as sexuality and abortion and whether women may be ordained, and stay away
from the most meaningful things that we can talk about: the needs of those whom
we meet on our path.
In his prophecy,
Amos the “dresser of Sycamore trees and herder of sheep” tells the people of
Israel who are rich, that God will destroy their wealth and that they will find
that God’s wrath is impossible to take.
He tells them that the word of God will be impossible to find. He says that the time is coming when God will
send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread or water, but a famine of
hearing the word of God. He tells them
that they shall wander from sea to sea looking for it, but that they shall not
find it.
This is a
terrible prophecy against people whom Amos accuses of bringing ruin to the poor
of the land, buying the poor for silver and selling the needy for a pair of sandals.
His point is to show up the incredible difference
between rich and poor in that society. These
are the people who are in charge of the wealth of the land, to whom the poor look
for help in their great need. But the rich
are spending it on themselves and dismissing the poor as worthless.
I don’t think
that there is much difference between us and them. We are still looking out mainly for ourselves.
We have a terrible problem doing really good
things for the poor. It tears us apart when
we try. Our hearts rush to judgment and our
purse strings stay closed. I’m not happy
to say this.
In the north
of England, in Yorkshire is a place called Fountains Abbey. It was built by Cistercian monks who were trying
to bring the Gospel to the people in that area. The whole place was built by the poor peasants
of the area who earned their living by their work. It is a ruin now, torn apart by the religious wars
around the time of Henry VIII. A mile and
a half down the road is Ripon Cathedral, a fading church that is a fair representation
of the reality of the Church of England. When we wandered through Fountains Abbey, I found
a remarkable peace that I have a hard time describing. God is in that place, and was in that place for
all of its existence. In Ripon Cathedral,
I saw only the trappings of church; the vestments, the candles, the wall hangings,
but not the mission. It seems to me that
both Fountains and Ripon are ruins. One just
doesn’t know it yet.
thanks!
ReplyDeleteTJ