"I appeal to you therefore brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God - what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12:1-2).
Here we are just two days into the government shutdown and already my patience is wearing thin. As much as I love the national parks, their closure at the moment is not my chief concern. What does concern me are the 800,000 federal employees who just like me have mortgages to pay, credit card balances to manage, utility bills to keep up with, and food to put on the dinner table. Just because they work for the federal government does not make them the "bad guys" as some in Congress might portray them. What does concern me are the low income recipients of "Women, Infant and Children" vouchers who depend upon these to put nutritious food on the table for their families. These are not the lazy freeloaders that some of our more affluent legislators in Washington claim them to be. By the way, I use the term "legislator" lightly when referring to some of these elected officials. For you see, many have not been elected to govern, they have been sent by their "constituents" to shut down the government. Apparently their mission has been accomplished.
The reckless behavior of those elected to positions of governance is astounding. Whether one is a supporter of the Affordable Healthcare Law or not is not the issue. Holding an entire segment of our population hostage (let alone the most vulnerable) to promote one's legislative agenda is morally corrupt. What's happened to the concept of governance through reason, compromise and commitment to the common good? Though it is Congress' responsibility to pass a federal budget, that budget belongs to every American. My taxes and yours when combined with all other tax revenues is designed to support the well-being and infrastructure of our society. When nearly 1 million people are put out of work and many others are unable to put food on the table due to a small group's political agenda, it is astonishing.
Like it or not, Congress duly enacted the Affordable Healthcare Act and the U.S. Supreme Court upheld its constitutionality. Despite over forty efforts by Congress to "repeal" this law, it has not happened. How many millions of dollars have been wasted in these repeal efforts?
Paul talks a lot about discerning the will of God. In my reading of scripture, God's love of and concern for the most vulnerable among us is overwhelming. Jesus himself is not only the embodiment but the fulfillment of all the Hebrew prophets of old who raised their voices for justice, peace and mercy. Though some would claim that God is as American as baseball, hot dogs and apple pie, people of faith know better. We know that God did not send Moses to bless Pharaoh or Jesus to bless Caesar. In fact Jesus himself died at the hands of Caesar. So we're probably better off to not go there.
Where is the voice to call those who engage in political brinkmanship to task? How can we, as people of faith, not raise our prayers and our voices in advocacy for the poorest and most vulnerable among us? I for one will be writing yet another letter to those in Congress who represent me all the while keeping this prayer foremost in my heart:
"O God, your son came among us to serve and not to be served and to give his life for the life of the world. Lead us by his love to serve all those to whom the world offers no comfort and little help. Through us give hope to the hopeless, love to the unloved, peace to the troubled, and rest to the weary, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen" (ELW p.60).
Your brother in Christ,
Pastor Doug
