Occupy Good Friday–Lament!!!!

Richard Rohr has been doing a series of meditations that make it very clear that the downward spiral of suffering is the way up and the only way out to resurrection—at least that is what I have got out of his reflections.  If I missed the point, blame me not Richard.
Somehow the image of the Risen Christ—once crucified—hanging with us in our human condition struck me this morning. My angst this day is somehow coupled with our sense of loss at not being able to participate in the Good Friday Ecumenical Walk in Cocoa, Florida. The walk visits a veterans’ center, a soup kitchen, a homeless shelter, the mainline railroad tracks (symbolic of the immigrant strangers among us, and the city government center. Appropriate prayers and songs are sung at each site. It is wonderful to see so many people of faith putting it on the Gospel line. I am thrilled when the young people in our midst cannot wait for their turn to lead the procession and carry the cross. The Walk gives a whole new meaning to the absurd power of the cross. With all this as background, here goes my Good Friday meditation. Continue reading

Debt Codes and Financial Exploitation

There is a strong contrast in today’s scripture readings. Again, relying on Ched Myers’ analysis, we can see that Jesus is repudiating the debt code of the hierarchical leaders in Israel. Forgiving the sins of the paralytic who was lowered through the roof is blasphemy to the religious leaders who want to continue the oppression of the debt code over the crowd (ochlos) that follows Jesus.

The “crowd” according to Myers and Korean theologian, Byung-mu, is the 99% of today. One characteristic of the crowd is that ‘[t]hey are alienated from the Jewish leadership, and thus largely supportive of Jesus in his struggle against that leadership.” Sound familiar? Continue reading