Still this prayer for direction came to mind both as I read the Gospel - Luke 17:11-19 - The Ten Lepers for this week, and listened to the heated reaction to the news that Donald Trump may not have paid any federal income tax for 18 years.
I thought about what we hear in most of our stewardship messages. There is a joy in giving. It is true and most of us in church expect to hear these words throughout the year. More particularly the expectations for our "joy reminders" come at this time of the year, while Creator considers this year's budget and makes key decisions about our financial future.Well, in the juxtaposition of the Gospel and news, I found new insights regarding gratitude and faith and I believe it was due to the power of prayer. Let me address the Gospel first.
Jesus enters a village that the lepers approach but simultaneously keep their distance. They are not in community with the village. They call for mercy. Jesus sees them and says, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." According to the gospel, as they went, they were made clean. One of them, seeing that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice.
The Holy Spirit reveals more than expected here. In turning around to show gratitude, one leper disobeys what Jesus just said “go show yourselves to the priests.” This leper first follows what Jesus says, then turns. He changes direction because he sees he is healed. The other nine lepers go to the priests. Jesus can only tell the one "Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well." Obviously "your faith has made you well" involves a recognition that something is happening beyond the healing for this one.
When Martin Luther was asked to describe what true worship looks like, he said, "The tenth leper turning back." He may be suggesting that worship, at heart, can be a defiant sort of gratitude to God.
What does this have to do with the news about Donald Trump's taxes? Listening to Trump surrogates praise his genius for finding loopholes in the tax code they make assumptions and judgements. When Jake Tapper interviewed Giuliani; Rudy states, "There aren't very many smart businessmen that don't take advantage of the legal tax laws that are there, and if they are, then they're not very good businessmen. In fact, 44%, 45% of America doesn't pay any income tax."
Giuliani continued "Anybody that goes and has an accountant, H&R Block or just goes online, figures out all the deductions that are available to them. I mean, the reality is that most Americans take advantage of every deduction available to them"
"I think that there are a lot of very, very successful businessmen and women who pay federal income taxes and don't look for every single opportunity there is to avoid paying them," Tapper said at one point and Giuliani contemptuously dismissed this out of hand.
Some surrogates and broadcasters found fault with Clinton for Trump paying this amount because, as a senator, she had more to do with passing tax laws than he did. In their reasoning this showed that she went along with the way the "fat cats wanted to rig the system".
The questions in the air seem to be whether Trump or a corrupt tax law is to blame for what is being perceived as an inequity. Also, as a change candidate, would Trump fix this inequity if elected?
Most people's first reaction is to agree with Tapper, that our faith is that successful business folk don't look for every opportunity there is to avoid paying taxes and, instead, can demonstrate civic pride. The Jonathan Winters character in It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World stands up against others who want to lie to the government to avoid paying taxes when he says "Everybody has to pay taxes. Even businessmen that rob and steal and cheat from people everyday, even they have to pay taxes."
In any case, the Gospel indicates another vision and different response altogether to subjects like tax laws, which may be best illustrated in the plot of the 1945 American drama film Our Vines Have Tender Grapes. In a pivotal moment of the story the entire town of Fuller Junction is coming to the aid of a proud farmer who has lost his livestock when lightning struck and burned down his newly erected—but uninsured—barn.
The responses of individual town members start off small and clearly will be of only minor relief to the farmer until a young girl, who highly values her pet calf, generously donates this calf she prizes to the impoverished farmer. At that moment the town reconsiders what they had been giving and give more in a very different way. After they are inspired by this change some of their harsh views of their insular community are rehabilitated and their faith in one another is rekindled.
The towns first response to the farmer's hardship is sensible, reasonable and ordinary. In essence this is comparable to what the nine other lepers did. Nothing wrong with this response, we do what we see as expected and required. The response is default and on automatic pilot. Regarding taxes, for example, everyone takes the available deductions.
Through generosity, the town momentarily glimpses something beyond this response - a key to kingdom of God. Amid the ordinary, something has changed. The root of their collective action in this case comes more from generosity and relationship, rather than justice. The spirit of what was portrayed in that moment would never be captured in a law that could be enforced by an institution. It involves individual insight, recognition and transformation.
We both have faith in what we can do together and recognize ourselves also as being the short-sighted businessmen in pursuit of profit rather than relationships as well.
I also appreciate the King James translation of your faith has made you whole rather than your faith has made you well. There are two healings for the leper who gave thanks.
Today was the day Valentine Mungyeh and his family went through the Creator new members ritual. This was also our day for a liturgical healing service.
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