“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”
– Matthew 25:34-40 ESV
I learned a long time ago that budgets, whatever else they may be thought of accomplishing, are essentially moral documents. Whether personal, organizational, business, corporate or governmental, they reveal the underlying values that create the numbers appearing on the printed page. Budget decisions involve choosing between competing needs and priorities, and these choices reflect underlying ethical/moral beliefs about both personal behavior and how society should be organized and what it should prioritize. As a society, budgets are the particular way that we care about and for one another, especially for the vulnerable, those who Jesus referred to as “the least of these,” as in the Mathew 25 citation that begins this post.
Jesus (the King in this text) declares that to show justice and mercy to the “down-and-outers” and victims of imperial oppression and exploitation is tantamount to providing mercy and justice to him. Pause right now, and consider what a radical proclamation this is. For any who would proclaim Jesus as Lord and claim to love the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind and strength (and wealth and power), this radical proclamation becomes the litmus test for fidelity to their Lord and God.
In this eschatological proclamation we behold the transformative power of seeing Jesus in everyone, especially those in need, and we are encouraged to actively seek to meet the needs of others. We should be reminded of the risen Lord’s questioning of Peter, “Do you love me,” and of his directive, “Feed my sheep.”
The remainder of the Matthew text (25:41-46) reveals the destiny of the “goats” (rather than the “sheep”). Those of privilege and power who ignore the misery and needs of the vulnerable are condemned to “eternal punishment.” God revealed in the person-hood of Jesus, is a God of justice, showing God’s self in the poor, the hungry and the needy of society.
It is in the searing light of this illuminating text from Matthew’s gospel that this current administration and the GOP‘s budget proposal, dubbed “The Big, Beautiful Bill,” must be seen and understood. Anyone who calls Jesus Lord must ask the ultimate question, “What will this bill do to Jesus?” To help us in finding the answer to that weighty question, we can peruse today’s article in Vox titled ,The ugly truth about Trump’s big, beautiful bill – Trump is promising tax cuts and a new golden age. Here’s what’s really inside it.
The full article by Andrew Prokop can be found by clicking HERE.
The bottom line is that The Big Beautiful Bill is both a moral abomination and a fiscal abhorrence. Ten years down the pike, this is the ugly outcome according to the article:
“Over the next decade, extending the old Trump tax cuts would cost about $4 trillion. Plus, his new tax breaks (for four years) and his military and border spending, would cost another $1 trillion — so the cost of the bill is about $5 trillion. Most of this, again, just won’t be paid for. But Republicans are proposing some spending cuts to pay for some of it — a little less than half. Their top targets are Medicaid, clean energy, student loans, and food stamps.”
The article explains how those cuts flesh out, right down to the bare bones, the bare bones of Jesus:
Big cuts to Medicade (over 600 billion)
The House GOP proposed new Medicaid policies that, in practice, would amount to steep cuts and make more than 7 million people uninsured, according to Congressional Budget Office estimates.
These policies include work requirements for Medicaid recipients (who aren’t seniors, pregnant, disabled, or caregivers). They also include several other new requirements for paperwork and eligibility checks. Critics say that these added hurdles will inevitably result in many rightfully qualifying recipients losing their coverage — and argue that that is likely the point.
The bill also would punish states that use their own money to fund health coverage for unauthorized immigrants by cutting their federal Medicaid funds. (Fourteen mostly blue states and the District of Columbia currently fund coverage for children even if they are undocumented.)
Clean energy cuts (over $600 billion)
The House bill would roll back many of the new tax credits that the Biden administration created for clean energy, including credits for electric vehicles, clean power production, energy efficiency, and even nuclear power. Critics say this could badly hurt or even decimate a booming industry, and that it would hurt the fight against climate change by marking low or zero-carbon energy more expensive.
Student loan cuts (over $300 billion)
The bill also overhauls the student loan program, creating bigger and costlier requirements for repayment of loans, limiting future loan availability, and ending certain loan or repayment programs.
Food stamp cuts ($300 billion)
Finally, the House GOP is also proposing deep cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamps. It would require states to start paying a share of the program’s costs — between 5 percent and 25 percent, depending on their payment error rates. It would also expand work requirements, already in place for many recipients, to 55- to 64-year-olds.”
And in the mean time the President is asking for a military parade in DC to coincide with his June 14 birthday and the 250th anniversary of the US Army. High on his wish list since his first Presidency, this dictator worthy spectacle will reportedly cost upwards of $45 million.
Bottom line, the out-of-step aspirations of this democracy decimating authoritarian regime and this budget bill that will ensure that billionaire oligarchs get richer at the expense of everyone else and the planet is neither just, merciful or humble/reverent. This is no way to treat Jesus or feed his sheep.
“Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle
than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
Matthew 19:24
Discover more from Pittsboro Presbyterian Church
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.