Empires of the Golden Calf
The prophet Ezekiel reveals his conversation with God in our first reading. In this conversation it is clear that God has sent the Spirit into the prophet to wake up the people - to stir up in them a sense of HOPE. Ezekiel along with his people was forcefully exiled to Babylon 600 years before Jesus’ birth. Ezekiel knew that liberation would not come in the short run. In fact, liberation for God’s people would take several generations. God wanted him to give the people a DEFIANT HOPE in their religious speech that would eventually bear fruit in personal aspirations and political action.
Jesus’ words and actions are also about DEFIANT HOPE. His preaching, like Ezekiel’s was about “conscientizaciรณn” the waking up of one’s heart, mind and soul. His prophetic ministry made people aware of the conditions of oppression that they lived in and at the same time inspired them to take responsibility for their own liberation. In today’s passage Jesus is preaching to a skeptical audience. Because the people had become accustomed to accepting the difficult conditions imposed by Rome. Galilee was basically a large labor camp for the workers employed by the Romans and the wealthy political class of Jerusalem. The congregation in the synagogue didn’t want to accept the challenge of freedom. Instead of saying “What do I need to do to be free?” they said, among themselves, “Who is this crazy guy?!”
All wealth and resources from the colonized areas in the Roman Empire flowed to Rome. Roman citizens were given full rights and privileges and non-Roman citizens were seldom if ever given a pathway to Roman citizenship, therefore keeping people in a permanent state of subjugation and servitude. How did Rome maintain this inherently unfair system? Through militarization of the Temple Police and the presence of Roman Army. The threat of violence ensured that goods and wealth would always flow to the top. Few if any wanted to challenge this injustice. Because Galilee was considered a “back water” area populated by the underclass and workers, no one saw the poorest of the poor as a threat. And sadly Jesus knew it. “‘A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.’…He was amazed at their lack of faith.”
Jesus; however, did not have lack of faith. Being in the line of Ezekiel’s prophetic ministry, Jesus belonged to a larger movement in what historians today understand as a time of rising resistance to the Empire. (see http://www.patheos.com/blogs/thepangeablog/articles/unpublished-papers/behind-lukes-gospel-the-roman-empire-during-the-time-of-jesus/ and if you have time, https://heldercarlosdotcom.wordpress.com/2013/07/13/the-socio-political-and-economic-situation-in-the-first-century-c-e-palestine-the-earthly-ministry-of-jesus-and-the-programme-of-renewal-for-the-people-of-israel/) Jesus’ unique contribution to this movement was the emphasis on making one free on the inside as a way to become free on the outside. Change happens when each of us become the change we want to see in society. If we want to be free from being subjected to the hate and violence of the Romans, then we ourselves have to become free from being violent and spiteful. If we want to be be shown mercy, then we ourselves must be merciful. Jesus understood that in order for one to be DEFIANTLY HOPEFUL in confronting political and economic oppression, one had to be DEFIANTLY HOPEFUL on the INSIDE.
Now let’s take the conversation to our time. This weekend we celebrate Independence Day. We’ve talked about the Roman Empire as the context for Jesus’ ministry, let’s see the Scriptures in the context of the British Empire. A critical reading of American history will show us that the British colonies on the East Coast began as a foothold for British economic expansion in the world. The promise of religious freedom was merely a “marketing strategy” to get people to migrate to the New World. British colonies here and in the Indian sub-continent were merely “cash cows” for the Crown. Indigenous populations were seen as resources and commodities, not people. When the indigenous populations refused to comply with domination, they were exterminated and replaced with British subjects who were more likely to cooperate with the the Crown’s plan of Empire expansion.
Over time the colonists began to demand having a say in the decisions that affected their daily lives. They wanted representation in Parliament and to trade with other countries. The British Empire, like the Roman Empire was not built upon the ideals of a participatory democracy. The Crown was the final word and all wealth and resources flowed from the bottom up. Only landed gentry with prior approval by the Crown could participate in making laws. And to ensure that this system stayed in place, the British Empire sent troops to maintain order. When the people pushed back against the Empire, the Crown placed greater restrictions on the people using violent force through increased militarization of the troops, censorship of published materials critical of the Empire and arresting people who spoke out against the Empire. The “Founding Fathers” created the “Declaration of Independence” stating that the states were declaring a formal separation from the British Empire. And that is what we as Americans celebrate today: Independence from a tyrannical system of oppression. But are we really free? (The Declaration had many grievances listed, among them: criticism that resources from the colonies served the Crown and not the people; that the Empire unreasonably restricted immigration and land expansion; the unnecessary presence of a standing army without the consent of the people; that the occupying forces were never punished for murder and harm to the people; and for inciting divisions and insurrections within the states to destabilize the people from organizing local control).
Have we traded one Empire for another? Are we still playing the same game, but merely changed the game-pieces? Pope Francis writes, “The worship of the ancient golden calf (cf. Ex 32:1-35) has returned in a new and ruthless guise in the idolatry of money and the dictatorship of an impersonal economy lacking a truly human purpose. The worldwide crisis affecting finance and the economy lays bare their imbalances and, above all, their lack of real concern for human beings; man is reduced to one of his needs alone: consumption.” (E.G. 55). The Empire of the Golden Calf’s “…thirst for power and possessions (that) knows no limits.” says Pope Francis. The Empire “…tends to devour everything which stands in the way of increased profits, whatever is fragile, like the environment, is defenseless before the interests of a deified market, which become the only rule.” (E.G. 56)
In the explosive public document on the environment the Holy Father shows that our economic system is the culprit behind ecological degradation. The top 1% believe that they have the right “…to consume in a way which can never be universalized.”… Echoing the words of John Paul II, Pope Francis says, “God gave the earth to the whole human race for the sustenance of all its members, without excluding or favoring anyone.” (LS 92) Roman Empire. British Empire and now, the Empire of the Golden Calf. Again I ask, are we actually free?
The Declaration was written in a spirit of DEFIANT HOPE that these former colonies would eventually build a better society. In our 239th year after the Declaration was signed, our so-called independence is sustained by increased personal surveillance, the suspension of privacy, and suppression of due process under the “Patriot Act;” with increased militarization of local police trained in suppression rather than conflict resolution leaving poor communities in a state of constant anxiety; and the creation of a permanent caste of people with no pathway to liberty and participation in democracy because the lieutenants of the Empire refuse to pass immigration reform. And a third time I ask, are we truly free?
How far have we strayed! The Empire has been born again under a different name and the fruit of its loin is income disparity and a less democratic America. Special interests with deep pockets have influenced election outcomes and public policy. Poor people and minorities are less likely to participate in elections. (see http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/01/why-are-the-poor-and-minorities-less-likely-to-vote/282896/) Billionaire industrialists led by the Koch brothers have pushed through voter suppression laws limiting poor people’s access to participate in democracy. (http://www.prwatch.org/news/2011/11/11117/koch-funded-alec-agenda-works-deny-voting-rights-brave-new-film-highlights-voter-) The income gap has shrunk the middle class by reducing wealth and increasing debt. (http://www.demos.org/publication/running-place-where-middle-class-and-poor-meet, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/laura-tyson/us-income-inequality-costs_b_6249904.html, and http://equitablegrowth.org/research/exploding-wealth-inequality-united-states/). As if the lack of political access, disappearing wealth, and increased debt is not enough, the reach of the Empire has penetrated our very souls. A study from Harvard University’s School of Public Health shows that women who live in areas areas with large income gaps are much more likely to suffer depression than those who live in areas with a more equal income distribution. (http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/10/31/2868811/income-inequality-women-depression/) When the spiritual heads of our households are hurting, imagine how hard it would be just to get ourselves motivated enough just to get out of bed to go to a job that doesn’t pay enough to provide the most basic necessities of our life. Whether you call it the Roman Empire, British Empire or the Empire of the Golden Calf our freedom, our independence still eludes us. Has the time come to declare our true independence? To be be truly free?
As people of faith we must be DEFIANTLY HOPEFUL. We must take up the cross and truly be free men and women. So come then to this table, a Table that reminds us that there is LIFE in the face of DEATH and that with God, all things are possible, especially a true, authentic and enduring freedom.
As I close, LET US CONSIDER THESE WORDS…
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
Freedom is coming, Freedom is coming, Freedom is coming oh, yes I know.
Freedom is coming, Freedom is coming, Freedom is coming oh, yes I know.
oh, yes I know. oh, yes I know. oh, yes I know. oh, yes I know.
oh, yes I know. oh, yes I know. oh, yes I know. oh, yes I know.
OH, FREEDOM, OH FREEDOM. OH, FREEDOM - FREEDOM IS COMING OH YES I KNOW.
OH YES I KNOW, OH YES I KNOW. OH YES I KNOW, OH YES I KNOW.
