Occupy

  They say that an infinite number of monkeys with an infinite number of typewrites will eventually produce a work of Shakespeare.  I would offer, in that same vein, that the same amount of monkeys could not produce a solution to our current economic and political malaise that would satisfy both our current Democratic and Republican leadership.

  And that, I believe, is part of the frustration at the heart of the Occupy movement.

  I think.  

  I've struggled with what to make of the Occupy movement, as a lot of Americans have.  I certainly share the frustration with the overwhelming lack of clear leadership being displayed by those elected to positions of power in this country.  I, too, believe that there is too much money in politics, and the fact that Congress recently agreed to classify pizza as a vegetable in order to satisfy the Salt Industry and the Fast Food Industry may be the straw that broke the camel's back in this man's willingness to have any trust in Congress.  I am fed up with corporations getting their way in Washington simply because they have the ear and wallet of the right leaders in their pockets, and I believe that many of these corporations are corrupt and greedy.  In all of these issues, I agree with the Occupy movement.

  However, I have discovered that I am in the majority of Americans who simply don't know what the goals of the Occupy movement are.  This recent Gallup poll has 59% of Americans being unsure of what Occupy's goals are.  Perhaps the lack of clear goals is an intentional attempt to bring in all who are fed up with the current state of the country, but I think it weakens the broad support, since many, like me, aren't sure how to support an organization with unclear goals.  

  But as a pastor, I feel like the most important reminder of the Occupy movement is the important of having Christians in leadership positions live like Christians.  The Occupy movement is fed up with corporate corruption--they are individuals who see corporations are seeking the almighty dollar before all else, fattening profit margins before being concerned with the health and welfare of individual employees and customers.  

  When Christ calls someone to follow Him, He calls all of us, all of our hearts, all of our lives.  He doesn't simply call us to give up an hour on Sundays and occasionally write a check to support the work of the church in the world.  He doesn't call us to put a fish sticker on our cars and call it a day.  He calls us to lay everything before him and live with integrity so that everything we do is an offering to God.  This includes our work--when we work, we are to love God with all of our hearts and minds, and to love our neighbors as ourselves.  We are to be ethical, responsible people, making decisions in our companies that are always based on what is right, not what is profitable, and we are to work to ensure that the places we work are ethical places.  Sometimes this is easy, sometimes not as much--but no matter the level of responsibility, we are called by Christ to be faithful, in big and small decisions.  Whether a secretary or a CEO, we are called to follow Christ within our places of work.  If those involved in the leadership of corporations across this country sought to live with the same selflessness that Christ displayed, I believe that would be a giant step in the right direction.

  I don't think corporations are solely responsible for the frustration and anger of the Occupy movement.  I think those in political office share much of the responsibility.  In 1 Timothy, Paul urges that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings should be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity.  Well, they certainly need our prayers, perhaps now more than ever.  I think that there is little hope in America that those who have been elected to lead us will do so effectively.  The cynicism is so high that rather than despair that only 9% of Americans feel like Congress is doing a good job, we wonder what those 9% of people are thinking.  Hope is such a powerful force in our lives, and we most accurately recognize this when hope is gone, for then despair sets in, and despair cries out for action.  I believe it is despair that leads protesters out into the streets, into the parks--I believe they are desperate to find hope in someone or something, a hope that the future will be better, that someone will make decisions that are the best for the country and the future, not simply for themselves.  I believe people are desperate for hope, for themselves and their children, desperate to know that opportunities for employment and a voice will be present today and the days to come.  

  What does the church have to say to this despair?  It is my hope that we point to the Kingdom, the 'already but not yet' reality.  The Kingdom is not yet here, and we look forward to the future with hope, confidant that  Christ is coming soon to transform the world, but in the meantime, the Kingdom is here, too.  God is at work in the world, redeeming the world, and inviting Christians to join in the process.

  And if the Kingdom is already here, that means that individual Christians are called to be actively engaged in building the Kingdom, not just sitting back and waiting for the 'not yet'.  We are to be at work in the world, recognizing the needs of those who surround us and doing whatever we can to meet those needs with the blessings we have been given.  Each of us has different gifts--those are meant to be shared with the world, not simply used to enrich ourselves.  We need to love our neighbor as ourselves, and perhaps in doing so our hope will be restored--if we are tightly bound together in Christ as a community, it is a lot harder to give up hope, for we know that our voices are heard, that our needs are noticed, that we are not simply trod underfoot, left alone to face the rising challenges and trials of life.  With a community around us, we see glimpses of hope in the care and love of one another.

  Christ calls us to love our neighbor, to feed the hungry, to reach out to the stranger.  As a church, we cannot meet all the worlds' needs and answer all of the cries of the needy.  But we can listen to each one, and recognize that we can always work to restore hope, to love one another, and to make sure that people do not feel isolated in the valleys that we each traverse.  While we cannot save the world, we can do our part to join with what God is doing in the world, and always remember that we find hope in Christ, and that hope should transform us to offer that same hope in love and service to our neighbors.