Eye of the Needle

THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 2011

Though I am tempted to start an old George Carlin oxymoron routine beginning with Jumbo Shrimp, I shall simply state that the current connection between some who profess to be Christians and a conservative political philosophy leaves me absolutely dumbfounded. (Many will argue that I was lost dumb, so now to be found dumb is no surprise.) I am a Christian. I am a liberal. I find that my spiritual beliefs are the bedrock of my political beliefs. That is not true of all Christians or of all liberals, but it is true for me.

Jesus taught in parables. Not being a deity I can only muster metaphors. Let's talk about the Good Samaritan. Was he affluent? Seems to have been. Did he work to secure his wealth for the future? Seems not. Did he promote competition or cooperation? Did he seek to avoid those of different faiths or beliefs? Did he assume that those who are hurt, damaged, and helpless somehow deserve to be so? Nope. As a human, he came to the rescue of someone in need. I think if Jesus told the same story today it would have to be the good Republican who saved an undocumented worker wounded on the side of the road. Rather, I see those of that ilk working to punish, ban and deport those wounded on the side of the road. What would Good Samaritan policies look like? Who is our brother? Every human in the USA is either a first or multiple generation immigrant. Let us help the wounded folks, whether the wounds are from muggings, unemployment, lack of education, lack of health care, or whatever. My faith dictates that I serve the wounded and help the less fortunate. My politics are aligned.

How about the rich young ruler who wanted to follow Jesus? Simple response: Give up your wealth for a more noble purpose and follow me. I spoke of this notion in Broken Bonds, but for me it is more spiritual than I discussed there. If I have and you do not, and I want to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, then I should give. Give 'till it hurts. I feel a lot of anger when affluent people propose to cut support systems for the poor and needy so that those who pay the most taxes pay less. I cannot find a scriptural base to support the accumulation of wealth for some when there are those who suffer, who need, who want and go hungry. My politics are aligned.

How about the poor widow woman who dropped two meager coins in the coffer while the wealthy contributed huge sums. Jesus was pretty clear on that one, too. Contributions from abundance mean little; a contribution from poverty means everything. And we cannot raise the tax rate on the wealthiest Americans? My politics are aligned.

Sadly, it appears to me that those who have much are struggling to enact policies to garner more while those who have little are losing more. I believe teaching the children of poverty is a moral and spiritual act. I believe that waging war on that effort is sinful. In this world the accumulation of wealth appears to be our objective. I believe those who have such wealth and are not working to help those who do not are not being moral. Love your neighbor as you love yourself is the second great commandment, and everyone is my neighbor. Come on, wealthy Christians, get on board lest you cannot pass through the eye of the needle and become walking oxymorons.