 |
Rev. Rich Lang |
There really are enemies who inten-
tionally and willfully want to do us
harm. The American myth is that the
enemy is outside our country. But the
truth is that the enemies that are hurting
us most severely are right here in our
midst. The enemy is someone who we’ve
been taught to admire, to trust, to be like
if we can. The enemy of this nation, and
the enemy that is affl icting you and I, is
quite simply the rich.
Rich folk, stratospheric folk, folk
whose income jets past a million dol-
lars a year do not care one whit about
democracy, about common folk, about
diverse neighborhoods, public educa-
tion, the price of bread, or trying to make
a living while maintaining your children’s
respect. Rich, stratospheric folk are the
folk who own our politicians, our media,
and our economy.
Rich, stratospheric folk supported
the war because their investments in war
production have made them even wealth-
ier. Rich, stratospheric folk think that
4,000 dead Americans, $500 billion spent
over there, over a million Iraqis dead,
hundreds of thousands driven from their
homes, all of this and more are worth
every nickel they’ve earned from raping
the body of God. Rich, stratospheric folk
dabble in the dark arts of exploitation,
pillage, and explosive, frenzied violence,
yet sleep very well every night in their
blood soaked silk sheets.
Do I overstate the case? Listen to how
the Bible says it:
Come now, you rich people, weep
and wail for the miseries that are com-
ing to you. Your gold and silver have
rusted, and will be evidence against
you, and it will eat your fl esh like fi re.
Listen! The wages of the laborers who
mowed your fi elds, which you kept back
by fraud, cry out, and their cries have
reached the ears of the Lord. You have
lived on the earth in luxury and in plea-
sure; you have fattened your hearts in a
day of slaughter. You have condemned
and murdered the righteous one, who
does not resist you. (James 5:1-6)
Or, the risen Christ in Revelation
3:15-17:
I know your works; because you are
lukewarm I will vomit you out of my
mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have
prospered, and I need nothing. You do
not realize that you are wretched, piti-
able, poor, blind, and naked.
Within the life of the Church we
preachers have been a bit lukewarm
when it comes to naming the name of
the oppressor in our midst. We mouth the
words, “Love your enemy and pray for
those who persecute you”, but we never
get around to naming or praying specifi -
cally. But as the war continues with no
end in sight, as the economy lurches to
the logical conclusion of being harvested
by rapturous greed, perhaps it is time for
love to insist that the rich “repent.” |
