To Loose the Bonds of Injustice

In a recent conversation with a friend, he made the statement that the federal budget is not a moral document, just a budget. I begged to differ. In as much as a budget is about fulfilling the hopes and dreams of the nation, in as much as it addresses or does not address the needs of the poor, in as much as the budget document fulfills or does not fulfil the aspirations of the American people, it cannot escape being a moral document. On a much smaller scale I have often said that if you want to know what someone really believes look in their wallet, i.e. look at their finances. If we want to know what the leaders of our nation believe we need to look at the expenditures that are being proposed from the federal wallet (in this case Congressman Paul Ryan's proposed 2012 budget.) Ryan's proposed budget, may be Republican, it may be somewhat Libertarian, but it has all but given up Christian values.
Entitled "The Road to Prosperity," and subtitled "Restoring America's Promise," Ryan's proposal was greeted warmly by conservatives and some libertarians. Ryan has touted his budget proposal as the best way to restore prosperity. His claim is that reducing the nation's debt will foster economic growth. The problem is that Ryan's budget doesn't reduce the deficit or the debt. Most of the money that would be gained by Ryan's proposal to curtail social services, is offset by the tax cuts that his budget proposes for the wealthiest Americans. As a moral document on which to base the future of the country, Ryan's budget is a failure. He has apparently decided that financially squeezing people with the least political clout is the best course to follow. Roughly two thirds of the budget cuts that Ryan has proposed will be made to programs that affect modest to low income Americans, as well as our poorest citizens, and the poorest of the poor in other nations. Ryan's budget also proposes a 30% tax cut (up to 30%) for the wealthiest people and U.S. corporations. From a moral perspective how does one justify cutting the social safety net out from under the neediest people while giving further tax breaks to corporations who (they are people after all) are enjoying tax free profits in the billions of dollars and wealthy people whose incomes have increased steadily for a decade?

The words of Isaiah the prophet come to mind:

"Ah, you who make iniquitous decrees, who write oppressive statutes, to turn aside the needy from justice and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be your spoil, and that you may make orphans your prey! What will you do on the day of punishment,in the calamity that will come from far away? To whom will you flee for help, and where will you leave your wealth...?"

As a moral document, Ryan's budget is quite clear. He intends to cut medicare, medicaid,food stamps, low income housing assistance,and educational programs vital to our nations future. In addition, the cuts to international health aid will most likely result in higher mortality rates among some of the poorest people in the world. I believe it is impossible to justify budget cuts that will undoubtedly adversely affect the lives of millions while giving a tax bonanza to the wealthy few. More people will die if this budget is passed.

In Deuteronomy 24, laws are given for social and community harmony and well being. Among them:

"When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be left for the alien, the orphan, and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all your undertakings. When you beat your olive trees, do not strip what is left; it shall be for the alien, the orphan, and the widow.
When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, do not glean what is left; it shall be for the alien, the orphan, and the widow."

There is little doubt in my mind, that Ryan's proposed budget, goes back for the last sheaf, beats the Olive tree till the very last olive drops, and waits for the last grape to be plucked from the vine, leaving the poor with little to nothing. No Christian should be willing to see the poorest made poorer; at least not before every other alternative has been explored. In the last decade, real income for 90% of Americans has declined, while the income of the top 1% has risen by $250,000. With the poor getting poorer, and the rich getting richer it is hard to understand why those who are rich need more tax breaks. (For perspective on this read the parable of "The Rich man and Lazarus," in Luke 16:19-31.)

The alternatives have not been fully explored. Ryan's budget proposal does not offer any cuts to our ever expanding, fiscally and morally unsustainable military budget. With three questionable wars, and military bases throughout the world, the U.S. military budget makes up almost half of all the military spending in the world. To propose a budget wherein cuts to military spending are off limits, despite billions of dollars worth of documented waste is unconscionable and immoral. Nor has our leadership had a recent open discussion about our continued operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and our recent involvement in Libya. Many strategists see no further gains to be made in Afghanistan while there are continuing costs in lives, treasure, and virtue. Currently, the Pentagon is weighing whether to stay in Iraq permanently.

Jeremiah the prophet writes,

"Are you a king because you compete in cedar? Did not your father eat and drink and do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him. He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well. Is not this to know me? says the Lord." Jeremiah 22:15-16

Some might call this biblical progressivism. It is more. Love of God according to this text is not found in piety, but in practice. Here, particularly, in the practice of judging the cause of the poor and needy righteously. For too long, I feel like I've been listening to the Christianists (on both sides of the issues) use Christian rhetoric to support their political positions. They themselves having opened that door, I want to see them held to the standard that God holds up in Jeremiah, or even better the standard Jesus upholds in Mark 12:28ff. Particularly verses 29 and 30,

"Jesus answered, 'The first is,"Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all our soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength." The second is is this," you shall love your neighbor as yourself." There is not other commandment greater than these."

Loving our neighbor as ourselves would be a good start in a society that seeks to find every difference between us and uses it to cause polarizing splits among us. Loving our neighbor is the only way we can see Jesus' own face. As a nation, if we will not love the poor, we have no business chanting any other religious slogans.

Some may counter that deficits are also a moral issue that needs to be addressed. Certainly, a real debate should be had about spending the money of future generations to fund questionable wars, tax subsidies,etc. Yet, the manner in which we address the deficit expresses our moral priorities. I, for one do not want to see any more expansion to the stables of Solomon while the poor go hungry, and I don't want to practice the economy of scarcity wrought by Pharaoh when he told the Israelites to make bricks with no straw.
Most of us remember the story of the feeding of the five thousand in Mark 6:30-44.
When it was time to feed the crowd, the disciples had to wade into the crowd to find what was available. They returned with two fish and five loaves; the approximate daily ration for a shepherd boy. That shepherd boy (or whomever) was the wealthiest person in that crowd of hungry people, but unfettered by the myth of scarcity he gave his food to Jesus. Because of his willingness to share; to sacrifice, we have the miracle of the loaves and fishes. Nothing would have happened had not that "wealthy" shepherd boy come forward to give up his lunch. The point is that for too long, we have been part of an economy where the powerful have been hoarding the loaves and fishes at the expense of those who are most vulnerable, most hungry, and most in need, and it is time for Christians to advocate much more forcibly for the poor. It is time to move away from a budget process that scapegoats the poor to one where the needs of Lazarus are the first priority recognizing that the rich man is already well taken care of. As for those who say we "are broke," I say that such words coming from anyone living in the wealthiest nation in all of history, are an affront to God who has so richly blessed us. It is time to let justice roll down like water, so that the poor may be refreshed.
May the contemplation of the great and mighty acts of God, and the obedience of Jesus during this Holy Week move our hearts and minds to act for those very lives are at risk.

In Christ,

Pastor Boehringer

Meandering Thoughts on the Proposed NH Budget

Yesterday I attended the rally at the Statehouse in Concord, NH to join the protest against the House version of the proposed New Hampshire state budget. I am not one to ordinarily attend such events, primarily because one often ends up, by virtue of being present, supporting things that one did not intend. However, given that the house version of the budget changes eligibility requirements for mental health services so that 7000 people will no longer be eligible, and reduces child care funding that will affect 4000 of the state's children, and additionally strips $115 million from the budget for hospital care of the poor, and eliminates programming for helping troubled youth, I felt that in addition to letters to my represtatives I had an obligation to attend the rally. I was also struck by the fact that the proposal rescinds the tax on gambling winnings, and lowers the tax on tobacco. (I didn't know gamblers and smokers had such clout.)

Outrage over the plight of the poor living in poverty is a continual theme throughout the Bible. For instance, the prophet Isaiah writes, "Ah, you who make iniquitous decrees, who write oppressive statutes, to turn aside the needy from justice and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be your spoil, and that you may make the orphans your prey! (Isaiah 10:1-2) The prophet Amos writes, "Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land, saying, When will the new moon be over so that we may sell grain; and the sabbath, so that we may offer wheat for sale? We will make the ephah small and the shekel great, and practice deceit with false balances, buying the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, and selling the sweepings of the wheat." (Amos 8:4-6) In his visit to Nazareth (Luke 4) Jesus read from the scroll of Isaiah, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor...."

As for us, the church, taking seriously the scriptures and what it is to be baptized into the life, death and resurrection of Christ, means we have an identity that frees us from definition by the usual measures of economic success and failure. Yet our baptism into Christ calls us to serve our neighbor as Christ emptied himself for us, and to follow the summation of the law given by Jesus, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.(Mt. 22:37ff.)

Attending a rally without a willingness to be part of the solution would be hypocritical at best, but I don't think the church is speaking hypocritically on this issue. Here at Gethsemane we just finished putting together 160 school kits for needy children; we are in the process of filling barrels with food, clothing and supplies to send to Haiti; we are collecting money for the ELCA Hunger program;we recently had a large food and clothing collection for the New Horizon's pantry in addition to our ongoing collections; we have started our own emergency pantry; and the pastor's discretionary fund has aided many people in need. I marvel at times at just how well our people do in responding to the needs of others. All of this requires thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of volunteer time. Gethsemane is fairly typical of the churches in Manchester which are all doing their best to meet basic needs.

Recently, Kevin Smith, head of the Cornerstone Policy Research center was quoted in the Concord Monitor as saying that churches need to step up to the plate and do more for New Hampshire's poor. He even went so far as to say we had abdicated our responsibility to the state. Of course, I find it rather obnoxious that the chairperson of an organization that works for limited government, who fully supports the House proposal, and couches his rhetoric in Christian language would have the temerity to ask churches to do more. His suggestion is that churches should take care of the poor so that people like him can have lower tax bills, and he tries to make it sound virtuous. (Actually it sounds both miasmic and Christianist. As I have said in other places, my definition of a Christianist is someone who seeks political power by exploiting Christian language.) There isn't much of a Christian ethic to be found in Mr. Smith's proposals. In fact, despite his churchy language he is proposing that the state has no obligation to the state's poorest and most needy, and since he is tired of paying he wants to curtail state spending and shift it elsewhere. His proposal isn't realistic. In New Hampshire, fewer than 23% of the population are members of churches. It is not likely that these people are going to be able to shoulder the burden if the House budget passes. The New Hampshire motto is "live free or die." Currently, too many people seem to have the view that this freedom simply means freedom from any responsibility for one's neighbor. Perhaps the definition of living free needs to be expanded from that of mere personal liberty to freedom from poverty, freedom from mental illness, and freedom from ignorance, to name a few. Perhaps one day it may even mean freedom from the greed that makes all of us so unsypathetic to our neighbor's plight. As churches, we will continue to both provide for the poor and to be a voice for them in the state of New Hampshire. And it might do our legislature some little bit of good to read the story of the rich man and Lazarus. (Luke 16:19ff.)It is a parable we all need to remind ourselves of now and then. Pastor Boehringer