“He was holding tight to a lot of things, and not about to let go.” That’s from The Message about the rich young man. And from Hebrews: “His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. Nothing and no one is impervious to God’s Word. We can’t get away from it-no matter what. Now that we know what we have-Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God-let’s not let it slip through our fingers. We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all-but the sin. So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.” As I mentioned 6 years ago when I preached on this same text, we are living in the age of the Pampered Princeling [from Naomi Klein]. This young man Jesus encountered was likely such a person. He had wealth, perhaps inherited wealth, and he was holding on tight to it. Jesus still loved him and I want to remember that.
As I journeyed with my companions on this Civil Rights Pilgrimage, I felt very much like this description in Hebrews, that a scalpel had cut me open to excise privilege and to leave me open and ready to receive information that was painful and redemptive and hopeful. And, a young, black woman’s words about white folks complaining caused me to pause and think about middle class white values that expected black folks to bend their time and priorities to meet our needs. We were there to learn, not demand.
From my fellow priest in the diocese, Elizabeth Ashman Riley, I have this “Rage Prayer” about Elections/Politics: “Holy One, everything around is turned upside down in the name of elections. Our politics and our processes are so far from what hurting people in the world need. The cost of time, the cost of energy, the cost of money, is an appalling reflection of the values of our country. The system is broken, and somehow we are supposed to make the best of it. God, we long for something different, where justice may roll forth, where we can break free of the hold of what no longer serves us. Holy One, show up in the midst of our fights for justice, strengthening those who continue to stand against impossible odds, in the hopes that we might do something different, and create a world that cares and supports all people. Holy One, may we not lose hope.” Though the current tenor of politics is extremely aggravating and in many ways, disgusting; Jesus loves these pampered princelings-these pampered white folks. And, I remember that the Gospel speaks more about Jesus’ love and care for the marginalized and the poor-who are often the same person. And I want to remember that.
An investigation by the New York Times about the former president’s wealth brought these comments by Naomi Klein: “…the growing political and economic role of inherited money in the United States-the culmination of decades in which a handful of sons and daughters of bequeathed wealth (like Elon Musk) waged a fierce and relentless battle of ideas against the very concept of equality and majority rule, all based on the same corrupting belief in their own inherent superiority.” Jesus was constantly pointing out the error in this thinking-that a person’s condition or status in life was a result of sin or righteousness.
All of the work done by the Kochs to dismantle regulations, lower taxes for corporations and the rich, and remove safety net programs set us up for a president who was a pampered princeling. And, harnessing the emotional power of racism was the basis as well as constructing a system of mass incarceration to warehouse the poor. All of these policies further enrich these wealthy pampered princelings. I don’t know how a person who has an intricate system of social supports justifies shredding the meager safety net available to those who are not so fortunate. The wealthy often benefit from enormous government subsidies yet they don’t want to pay the same tax rates as their Proper employees. We certainly need to stop admiring these pampered princelings.
It brings back all that I saw on my pilgrimage. The way Southern landowners and poor whites were “holding tight to a lot of things, and not about to let go,” they were frightened that they would lose if formerly enslaved Africans could vote, be elected into office, and receive payment for their labor-maybe even buy or receive land as a reparation for their treatment. They fought against reconstruction and made sure the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution would include a phrase that still wreaks havoc on African Americans today. The amendment abolished slavery in the whole country, except in the event that a person committed a crime. Free or cheap labor in convict leasing.
One plantation - Parchman-was turned into a prison in Mississippi and is operated much like a plantation of old. Pampered princelings, indeed. In this Gospel, Peter reminds Jesus that he and the others left behind their worldly goods to follow him and they continued his ministry under great duress for the rest of their lives. After encountering this pampered princeling, Jesus moves on with his ministry. Those disciples left their livelihoods behind to follow some foolish idea that all people were human beings deserving of God’s love, deserving of good things, and deserving their own path to prosperity.
I had an emotional encounter with saints and martyrs of the Civil Rights movement over 9 days of travel. We covered a lot of territory, a few centuries, and I shed a lot of tears. For the 2M African bodies at the bottom the Atlantic Ocean, as I looked at the faces of folks in deep distress as they experienced slavery, looking at the jars of dirt from lynching sites and the sheer numbers of those lynched in this country, and as I sat and listened to incarcerated folks tell their stories. Being able to hear first hand accounts of voting rights marches in Selma and on to Montgomery by women who participated. And, people keep keeping on.
What privilege are we holding tightly? What injustices are we ignoring? Another of Elizabeth’s rage prayers: “We are compelled, O Holy One, in confession and repentance, To confront the human sin of racism, often shrouded and protected, Through the people and institutions wielding the holy name of God. The history and wounds so deep and broad, the work ahead severe. For all that has been broken, stolen, and destroyed from this sin, we lament. For the divisions and walls that have been built between the children of God, we pray. For our own inherent othering, our prejudice, our judgment, we repent. For a path forward, of reparations of reconciliation to you, God, we hope. Amen.