A few days ago, someone had posted a sign on Facebook that I quickly shared. The sign read, "Jesus is with the 99%" and at the bottom it posted the scripture, "You cannot serve God and wealth." One of the things I've always loved about Jesus is that Jesus is constantly reaching out to the underdog, so this message spoke to me and I posted it without thinking. Greed is one of the seven deadly sins after all.
Sometime later that day Father Michael Hudson posted a message stating that Jesus also "surely seeking the lost". My response was rather quick and honestly I cannot say if my response was a defensive reaction or one born out of my own bias or prejudice against millionaires. I agreed that Jesus seeks the lost but quoted Matthew 19:24, "Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." We were not arguing on the post just having a friendly conversation. I knew because of who Michael is that he was not judging me in my post. Perhaps that is why I continued to be needled by the conversation as it felt the Spirit nudging me to think further.
During my meditation, it's become sadly clear how easy it was for me to pass judgment on the wealthy. In my mind and experience, I think of the millionaires and billionaires who buy up corporations and whose main concern is to obtain wealth at any cost as the ones who are "wealthy" but not myself...or anyone I know really. Michael's post got me to thinking about the lost sheep and the extravagant loving God who seeks us all. Why would God not seek the wealthy, the rich, the millionaires and billionaires? The answer is that God seeks us all and the larger message in Matthew was that God had reached out to the wealthy young man in the story, but when the ruler was asked to give up his wealth and power to follow a lowly carpenter, the man couldn't do it. The young man walked sadly away. It was only after that when Jesus spoke about the difficulties the rich will have in entering the kingdom. The text reads "easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle" which is great imagery but hardly practical.
Many scholars believe that there was an error in the text and there are many arguments about which word is really supposed to be there. In the end, if you've ever tried to thread a needle with a single strand of thread, sometimes even that seems impossible. We have to remember the context in which this rich young ruler spoke to Jesus. He was an outstanding citizen who followed the law, was charitable and a decent person who was also religious. Many in that time would have seen his wealth as a reward for his goodness. The man's question was, "...what do I still lack?" Jesus's response was, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." When you read the details of the life the young man led, it is clear that his life was full of good deeds and faithfulness. Once the people and the disciples heard how hard it was for THIS man to get into heaven, they were worried and exclaimed, "Then who can be saved?" They were saying, "If he can't do it, then how can I?" Jesus' response was "what is impossible for mortals is possible for God."
These lessons and observations did not bother me. Sharing the good news that God can save us all (even the wealthy) gives hopefulness. What bothered me about the conversation I had with Michael (and this text) was how quickly I felt that Jesus was with us and not with them. The minute I did that, I distanced myself from God. God is indeed for us all and when we begin to think that God is only on our side, we need to reconsider our reasoning. Another photo going around the internet regarding Occupy Wall Street shows Jesus throwing the moneychangers out of the temple. What we forget is that those moneychangers at that time were considered part of the religious practices of the day. The problem was that the religious practices of the day had lost focus on the true meaning of prayer, repentance and sacred space. The moneychangers became too focused on a way to make money instead of a way to empower people to move closer to God.
As we seek to make a living, we all complain at times about how hard our lives are in this economy. While this is true, there are many of us who are still doing well even if we are not part of the 1% of Americans. Notice I distinguish 1% of Americans instead of 1% of the world population. In comparison to Afghanistan or Burundi, most of us in the US are the 1%. We are the wealthy in comparison to the larger population of our world. Yet we forget how blessed we are. We claim we have nothing when we have cars, houses, food and duplicates of computers, televisions, cell phones. We who are wealthier than so many in our world are quick to judge the 1% of Americans who are millionaires and billionaires but forget to look at our own lives.
I'm not saying for one minute that the protest is wrong because it is important to stand up for justice. Justice meaning equal treatment for ALL people under the law. What concerns me is how quickly we who call ourselves to be Christian separate into an "us and them" mentality without considering where we might be in the wrong. Jesus' hardest words in his ministry were not for the wealthy or sinners, but for the religious leaders of the time who thought they were beyond reproach. What Jesus asked of the wealthy young man, he could ask of us too.
Go and sell one of your televisions and give that money to the local food pantry. Sell one of your cars and donate the money to an organization that provides transportation for others. Give the extra car to those foundations who sell them to those who cannot afford new cars. Sell your extra house and give the money to Habitat for Humanity. Give up cokes for one week and donate that money to the Grameen Foundation who helps women in poverty able to provide the basics needed for survival. It's so easy to judge the billionaires and millionaires because the money gives them power that we cannot imagine. It is that very power that made it difficult for the rich young man to give up his wealth to the poor and follow Jesus.
Though we may not be millionaires or billionaires, we are not powerless either. Occupy Wallstreet is a movement that seeks to claim the power that we as average citizens in the US have. I think that as Christians it also points us to a larger task. We must remember that we are all more alike that we are different and that God claims us every one. When we lose sight of our own foibles, mistakes and wealth we begin to lose sight of our purpose in life. Jesus sums that up in two phrases, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul." And "Love your neighbor as yourself."
Comments