\nmuch as I adore Isaiah, and as much as I adore Isaiah for passages
\nlike this, the temptation towards exhaustion is certainly raised.
\nWalter Bruggemann1<\/sup><\/a>
\ndoes wonderful work with this passage, pointing out that it
\ncriticizes \u201cfeel good worship\u201d that doesn’t lead to action,
\nworship done to manipulate God, worship without humane economic
\npractices, and a lack of neighborliness. \u00a0Three things are asked of
\nGod-worshippers: \u201c(a) shared bread, (b) shared houses, and ©
\nshared clothing.\u201d2<\/sup><\/a>
\n Food, shelter, and clothing being imperative for life, worshippers
\nof God are to see those who are struggling as beloved members of
\ntheir own families and provide for them.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Doris
\nClark told me once about her childhood in rural Western NY. \u00a0Her
\nfamily, like all the other families around, lived on a small family
\nfarm. \u00a0Their lives were sustainable, but not wealth producing. \u00a0One
\nof the nearby families was impoverished because they’d had many
\nchildren and the resources they had didn’t stretch far enough for all
\nthe mouths they had to feed and bodies they had to clothe. \u00a0Doris
\nreflected on the fact that her family, like all the other families in
\nthe area, shared their excess with that one family and were able to
\nkeep them afloat. \u00a0She also reflected that what had seemed possible
\nwith one family out of many, when all were interconnected felt VERY
\ndifferent from responding to poverty and need in this place and era.<\/p>\n
That <\/p>\n And <\/p>\n And <\/p>\n <\/p>\n So, <\/p>\n So, <\/p>\n When <\/p>\n There <\/p>\n Right, <\/p>\n Our <\/p>\n This <\/p>\n But <\/p>\n And, <\/p>\n Actually, <\/p>\n So, 1<\/a>Yep, 2<\/a>Walter 3<\/a>https:\/\/www.timesunion.com\/local\/article\/Census-Most-Schenectady-kids-live-in-poverty-3925563.php<\/a><\/p>\n 4<\/a>http:\/\/www.schenectady.k12.ny.us\/about_us\/district_dashboard\/demographics<\/a><\/p>\n 5<\/a>https:\/\/www.poorpeoplescampaign.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/New-York-Fact-Sheet.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\nwas another fish noticing the water conversation for me. \u00a0I knew I
\nwas overwhelmed by the needs around us, but I hadn’t ever experienced
\nanything different in order to be able to make sense of it. \u00a0As of
\nthe last census, more than half the kids in our city live under the
\npoverty rate, and recent administrative changes to social service
\nprograms has made that far worse.3<\/sup><\/a>
\n The Schenectady City School Districts puts it this way, 79% of our
\nschool children are \u201ceconomically disadvantaged\u201d which translates
\nto \u201celigible for free or reduced lunch.\u201d4<\/sup><\/a>
\n On these statistics alone, it feels like a different world than the
\none Doris grew up in.<\/p>\n
\nthe challenge is that these aren’t the only problems we are aware of.
\n Just to put it into perspective, we are aware of gross injustice at
\nour borders, including nearly 70,000 children in cages and
\ndeportations of integral members of communities; we are are of gross
\ninjustice in our so-called justice system, which has the impact of
\ndecimating communities of color with imprisonment, probation, and
\nlife-time bans on social service supports for crimes that are
\ncommitted equally by people of all races; we are aware of a gross
\ninjustice to our the youngest members of our society when parents
\ndon’t have paid leave and aren’t able to spend the time with their
\ninfants that is needed; we are aware of a raging climate crisis that
\nhas one of our continents burning and then flooding at unprecedented
\nlevels, seas rising, extreme weather events becoming normal, and mass
\nmigration pressing the capacities of nations; we are aware of
\ngovernmental instability around the world, of dictatorships and wars
\nand genocides…. and I just picked SOME of the big issues floating
\naround us today. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nso when I hear Isaiah speaking for God saying, \u201cIs this not the
\nfast I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of
\nthe yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? \u00a0Is
\nit not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless
\npoor into your house, when you see the naked, to cover them, and not
\nhide yourself from from your own kin?\u201d I admit to some feelings of
\nutter exhaustion, and sometimes even hopelessness. I know God is big,
\nbut humanity isn’t terribly faithful to God and our problems are
\nENORMOUS.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/66.media.tumblr.com\/de20f4ca2620308b8f812b76c6dcbc43\/d26f3ef1a3b90dd2-59\/s540x810\/7bf665eece6daae53d12b387c79cb40b7994b8ef.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n
\na person might say, pick one problem, one close to home and work on
\nthat! \u00a0I’m game for that, let’s look a childhood poverty in
\nSchenectady? \u00a0Where does it come from? \u00a0This one I know the answer
\nto! \u00a0People who are the caregivers of children in Schenectady don’t
\nhave enough money. \u00a0(Mathematical proof complete.)<\/p>\n
\nwhy don’t the caregivers of children in Schenectady have enough
\nmoney? \u00a0Well, that gets complicated. \u00a0Some of it is because there
\naren’t enough jobs; some if it is because there aren’t enough jobs
\nthat pay a living wage; some of it is because people don’t have the
\nknowledge, training, or skills to get the jobs that exist; and some
\nof it is because people aren’t able to participate in the workforce
\nget so very little money to live off of; some of it could even be
\nbecause people don’t have good skills in financial management. \u00a0But
\nthat’s only the beginning.<\/p>\n
\nwe root down deeper in these questions we get to a lot of other
\nissues. \u00a0Schenectady definitely deals with impoverished people of
\ncolor being being imprisoned \u2013 with the greatest impact being in
\nthe African American community, and a person in prison can’t make
\nmoney while in prison and is profoundly impeded from doing so
\nafterwards (not can they get the support they need.) \u00a0Schenectady
\nCity Schools have been underfunded by the state for decades, making
\nit exceptionally difficult to provide the services our students need
\nto thrive, ESPECIALLY given the struggles students have when they
\ngrow up in impoverished neighborhoods. \u00a0This also means that many of
\nour graduates aren’t prepared for the job market. \u00a0We clearly also
\nhave struggles with drug and alcohol addiction, which is complicated
\nby drug companies that have decided to make profits off of people’s
\nlives. \u00a0We in this community are deeply impacted by the cost of
\nmedical care, which has impoverished many and prevents even more from
\ngetting the care they need. \u00a0We also struggle with old housing stock
\nand a high water table that results in some of the highest asthma
\nrates in the country. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nare also the complicating aspects of poverty \u2013 the part where
\neverything in poverty is more expensive: the cost to cash a check
\nwithout a bank account, bank fees if you don’t have a high enough
\nbalance, buying things on credit and paying much more with interest,
\nINSANE interest and fees, trying to eat cheaper food and paying for
\nit with health, the pure cost of eviction and then the increased cost
\nof housing after eviction, the increased cost of buying food near
\none’s house when that isn’t where the grocery store is but the store
\nis far away and costs too much to get to, the smaller earning power
\nof women \u2013 with larger impact when men are imprisoned, the impact
\nof stress on the body and the family, and the list goes on and on.<\/p>\n
\nso everything is intersecting and it isn’t easy to change. \u00a0A few
\nyears ago I went to TEDx Albany and heard some great speakers offer
\nwonderful inspirational stories. \u00a0Most of them that year were about
\nthe speaker’s intentional work to change the lives of people living
\nin poverty, and that was great! \u00a0But I was a little horrified to
\nrealize that all of them were working on poverty on an individual
\nlevel. \u00a0That is, \u201cif I help this person (or these people) in this
\none small way, it increases the likelihood that they’ll be able to
\nget out of poverty.\u201d \u00a0Excellent, for sure, and a great use of
\ncompassion and capacity. \u00a0What scared me was that no one seemed to be
\nlooking at poverty on the larger scale. \u00a0Because in our society,
\nwhen one person or family fworks their way out of poverty, someone
\nelse falls in. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\ncapitalist system depends on there being a lower class and an
\nimpoverished class… because all those ways that poverty is
\nexpensive are ways that other people are able to make money of of
\npeople’s suffering. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nisn’t new, it isn’t news, and it definitely isn’t just the USA. \u00a0One
\nof the things that is most helpful about the gospels for me are that
\nthey are based in a very similar economic system, and so the analysis
\nof Jesus is particularly applicable for us today. \u00a0The context of
\nIsaiah is a little bit more complicated, and that’s good too. \u00a0This
\npassage is from Third Isaiah, reflecting the struggles of the
\ncommunity newly back from exile. \u00a0So, they were still a vassal state
\nto an external empire, but they also had some freedom, and were
\ntrying to rebuild their society. \u00a0Thus, the normal struggles of \u201cwhat
\ndoes justice look like\u201d were relevant for them. \u00a0During the exile,
\nthe people left behind were defenseless and struggled mightily for
\ngenerations. \u00a0And, during the exile, the people taken into exile were
\nused as slaves and struggled mightily for generations. \u00a0That’s a hard
\nplace to start rebuilding from! \u00a0And it might be an easy place to
\nbecome individualistic. \u00a0After all, everyone has had a hard time,
\nthere aren’t a lot of resources, it might make sense to gather what
\nyou can and share it sparingly. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nalso, the people were FREE, and they were REBUILDING, and they were
\ngrateful to God for this new era were particularly faithful to their
\nworship and religious rituals. \u00a0Which is where we find this passage.
\nThe people are worshipping, yes, but aren’t living out God’s values.
\nGod’s values are ALWAYS for the well-being of the whole, the care for
\nthe vulnerable, and the acknowledgment of shared humanity with those
\nwho are struggling.<\/p>\n
\nyes, sometimes this is really hard, and it is almost always
\noverwhelming. \u00a0And these problems are big, and complicated. \u00a0There
\nare three pieces of good news here though: \u00a01. \u00a0God is on the side of
\nvulnerable, and God is a really really good ally, 2. \u00a0The Body of
\nChrist works so that if each of us do our part, big changes happen,
\nbut we only have to do our small part, 3. \u00a0The Poor People’s Campaign
\nis working on all of this and they’re amazing.
\n (Copies of my sermon have the NY state fact sheet attached.)5<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n
\nthere is a 4th<\/sup>
\npiece of really good news, and this is one I should talk about more.
\nOne of the most valuable ways to change the world is to settle into
\nGod’s love for us. \u00a0Because when we are TRYING to be lovable, we tend
\nto get really defensive about our errors and then that leads to us
\njudging others to protect ourselves, and things can go downhill
\nquickly. \u00a0But when we TRUST that God loves us, and also that God has
\ngood work for us to do in the world, THEN we can participate in the
\nworld as expressions of that love, and things just go far better. \u00a0As
\nwe allow ourselves, and our humanity, and even our weaknesses and
\nfailures to be acceptable to ourselves and visible to others, we tend
\nto get better at letting other people be human too. \u00a0And as we do
\nthat, we increase our capacity to see other people as fully human and
\nfully beloved by God \u2013 and THEN we have the best possible
\nmotivation to work towards bettering the lives of those around us. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\ndear ones of God, I invite you to do what you can do to settle into
\nGod’s love for you, and also to follow God’s will in the world: to
\ncreate more justice, to break more yokes, and to bring freedom to the
\noppressed. \u00a0May God help us all. \u00a0Amen \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n\tit is paragraph three and I’ve now cited Isaiah and Brueggemann.
\n\t#ProgressivePastorCredentials. \u00a0Also, if you were wondering, my
\n\tcomputer knows how to spell Brueggemann.<\/p>\n
\n\tBruggemann, Isaiah
\n\t40-66<\/i>
\n\t(Louisville, KT: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998), 187-189<\/p>\n