Pastor’s Pen: July
People of the Journey,
Over the July 4th holiday, the U.S. Congress passed, and the President signed into law, a budget package known as the “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act.” Though, I am afraid that there isn’t much beauty in it. Mostly, it’s brutal.
Massive cuts to healthcare that will disproportionally impact children. Work requirements and red tape that remove Medicaid coverage for millions. People with chronic conditions, parents, folks living with disabilities—abandoned.
SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) wasn’t spared either. Millions of people, mostly children, elders, and working families, will face stricter rules and less access to food.
In the richest nation in the world, this is the choice some of our law-makers have made. The impacts of this budget bill will do harm to the well-being of communities and the lives of many people for decades to come.
Martin Luther, that 16th century monk who spurred on the Protestant Reformation and the Lutheran denomination’s namesake, famously distinguished between a theology of glory and a theology of the cross. Whereas a theology of the cross foregrounds the suffering of Christ crucified, a theology of glory desires power through works. Among the theses of Luther’s Heidelberg Disputation is this: “ A theology of glory calls evil good and good evil. A theology of the cross calls the thing what it actually is.” In other words, theologians of the cross cannot equivocate when faced with good and evil; they must call a thing what it is.
As a called and ordained minister in the church of Christ and by Christ’s authority, I am calling the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” what it is: opposed to God and God’s desire for a flourishing humanity and world.
And in the face of forces that oppose God, the forces evil, destruction, and death, what does the church do? We tell the truth about this broken world and proclaim the hope and grace of God in the person of Jesus. We point to Jesus who suffers with us. We point to Jesus who died and rose again. Who loosens the bonds of injustice, sets the captive free, and brings life out of death. We are resurrection people, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, are equipped to return to the teachings of Jesus. By the power of his resurrection and our baptismal identities, we become Jesus’ hands and feet in the world demonstrating God’s will and way.
“I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and welcomed you me…Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me. (Matthew 25)
We, along with millions of other Jesus followers, people of other faith traditions and people of no faith, will pick up the pieces. We will respond. New Journey Lutheran Church will respond.
We’re already feeding, providing life-saving water, school supplies and quilts for the unhoused, and under-resourced people. And, now, the call to step into the breach will be even greater. Especially, as Arizona is predicted to be one of the top three states negatively impacted by the “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act.”
It is in these times I am grateful to God for your generosity and this congregation’s committment to the well being of our neighbors. It is in these times I am grateful for the work of ELCA Advocacy, Bread for the World, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry of Arizona, the Northeast Valley Consortium who are finding ways to creatively resist the powers of destruction and prioritize the needs of the most vulnerable.
If you are looking for ways to put your faith into action, consider the following opportunities:
Pray with and for those who are newly made vulnerable, asking for God’s presence and power for creative response
Support the work of or find ways to become involved in Arizona Faith Network
Become a supporter or volunteer with Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest
Engage in faithful public witness through your networks as well as ELCA Advocacy and/or Lutheran Advocacy Ministry of Arizona.
Stay the course, church. Keep the faith. Trust that it is faith which keeps you.
Peace to you,
Pastor Beth