Ordinary Time
January 14, 2022
Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a
Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot were to say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body’, that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear were to say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body’, that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you’, nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’ On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it. –1 Corinthians 12:14-26*
In Jul 2015, former president Jimmy Carter said the United States is now an “oligarchy” in which “unlimited political bribery” has created “a complete subversion of our political system as a payoff to major contributors.” Both Democrats and Republicans, Carter said, “look upon this unlimited money as a great benefit to themselves*.”
An Oligarchy is a group or organization that is controlled by a privileged few**
Recalling Carter’s above observation, I saw this scripture in a new light. I more and more believe that God created the world to be interdependent, and any attempt to disconnect that objective leads eventually to disaster. Like steering a boat sharing the waterway with many other travelers, we are each called to maintain a steady course using all the skills and talents God has gifted us to be the best of who we are and desire that all those other people become the best that they can be. I fear greed blinds some to the necessity of achieving that critical mission to sustain our very lives. There is no trickle-down in the economy. All wealth is dependent upon the abundance each person shares in the economy.
The USA is a grand experiment on whether a nation can exist in harmony as a government of the people by the people and for the people. We have never met that vision fully, but we stand very close to the precipice of proving we cannot. The actual test is whether the people want democracy. Are we letting ourselves be trapped by the oligarchs? Why are we letting them rule us?
Prayer: Lord, strengthen us with the power of love to recover our dream of a world ruled by loving our neighbors as we love ourselves and not impoverishing them so we can be richer. Amen.
*https://theintercept.com/2015/07/30/jimmy-carter-u-s-oligarchy-unlimited-political-bribery/
**https://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/oligarchy
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.