#OccupyChurch

You might have heard some increased chatter pertaining to large groups gathering in cities around the nation protesting... ummm... big banks? disproportionate distribution of wealth? lack of government oversight? Lots of things, really. If you haven't, you can read about it here (NYC), here (Chicago), or here (DC). The protesters have been called "mobs... pitting Americans against Americans" by Majority Leader Cantor, but Minority Leader Pelosi said that has more to do with him than the demonstrators. Anyway, there is a lot of opinion out there about the Occupy movement, much of which I am unqualified to respond to with any sense of authority. My hat is, for better or worse, thrown in the proverbial ring of theological response. And until today, the only thing I could muster was that the greed perpetuated by unbridled capitalism and rewarded by a neglectful system is so obviously unbiblical that stating it seemed patronizing to anyone who might listen. What virtue is more evident in Christian texts than care for the poor, and what vice more deplorable than defrauding the marginalized?

Today, however, in a wonderful sermon by United Methodist pastor Rev. Amy DeLong (you might remember her from the trial this summer addressing homosexuality and the UMC), I was reminded of an idolatry that accompanies greed - the internalization of scarcity. Rev. DeLong spoke of the feeding of the 5000 in Matthew's gospel. The disciples wanted to send the crowd home so they could feed themselves, but Jesus told the disciples to feed them. The disciples protested, pointing out that they did not have enough food to go around. But Jesus told the disciples to feed them. And when they did, there was enough, and even more than enough. Because there is no scarcity in Christ.

And it seems that this is the heart of the Occupy protests. There is enough for everyone to have enough. The government's job is not to provide tax shelters to the rich (I think we can all agree their voice is pretty effectively heard), but to provide protective shelter to the vulnerable in its midst. As Christians, Jesus tells us to feed the crowd, without verifying their citizenship, without testing them for drugs, without questioning their sexuality.

The Occupy demonstrators are defying the theology of scarcity preached by those too cowardly to give freely, because those protestors know there is enough. They know each person, from a terminally unemployed worker to a CEO of a Fortune 500 company, is worthy of a life of integrity and purpose. There is enough life for all of us.

Rev. DeLong said that when you forgo justice in favor of personal or institutional preservation, then "the Gospel is a casualty of fear and damage control." Battling those in power (popularly elected or amassed in wealth) is imperative at this moment when so many have so little. The Church can and must gather strength enough to tell the world to feed the crowd.