~I was at work for 14 hours today, and this is my 24th day without a whole 24 hours off, and I'm really tired. But it's also the day that representatives of the countries who signed on to the Millennium Development Goals to end extreme poverty in the world eight years ago met in NYC to review the progress made meeting those goals. And months I ago I pledged to blog about the MDGs today, and to do something to support them. I'd sort of decided to skip it, being so tired, but then I clicked over to my friend the caffeinated priest's blog and read this, which prompted me to go over to the Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation blog and read this, which made me realize that my tiredness is really nothing compared to what much of the world has to deal with, and I need to honor my pledge. Not that me blogging about the MDGs is going to change the world, but if each one of us speaks up and affects even one person, and that person affects even one more, maybe...just maybe it will matter. So here goes.
~Like many people of faith (and those of no particular faith as well), I have complicated feelings about poverty and my obligation to others. Before I went to seminary I volunteered for an organization supported by a number of local churches that provided what we referred to as "band aid help" --we had food vouchers and gas vouchers and bags of groceries and diapers and formula, and we could give referrals to local social service agencies and knew where the best thrift shops were--we tried to fill in the cracks in peoples lives were in a pinch. We had regulars--people who came month after month when their food stamps ran out or their bills were due--and we had drop-ins who came once or twice for an emergency and that was it. My job was basically to sign them in and then be hospitable while they waited their turn since there was always a crowd. So I heard their stories--how hard they worked, how grateful they were for help, how unfair life could be. Some were resigned and some were angry. Some were trying everything they could to make their lives better, to get out of the poverty trap and some were beaten down and defeated. Some were embarrassed to ask for help and others felt entitled. But the one thing they all shared was their poverty.
~The question of where God is in all this poverty was never far from my mind, but there are no easy answers. I suppose I could rail against God for allowing people to live in poverty, for not making a more just world. Or I could write God off entirely. Although both of those impulses have flitted though my consciousness at times, neither of them is really a satisfactory response for me. Nor do they help make anything better. I'm a Christian though, so I hear Jesus calling, saying "Whenever you feed or clothe or care for the least of these, you do it to me," and that moves me. But not only Christians are called--people in other faith traditions also have the holy obligation to care for the "other," to make the world better. Sometimes this feels like an impossible task, and it is for each one of us individually. But together, together we can make a difference, can't we? Mustn't we?
~If you've managed to read this far, you might be saying, "But what does this all have to do with the MDGs?" Here it is: Most everyone reading this blog occupies a place of great privilege, no matter how deprived we might feel at times. It is up to us to make the world a better place. And we can make a difference. We did make a difference in our little organization; we did in some small way alleviate the suffering from poverty for a few people for a little while. But there is so much more we can do. As bad as it was, the poverty of the people I encountered was still insignificant in the face of the abject poverty prevalent in some parts of the world. Eight years ago the United Nations pledged to do something about that abject poverty and some of the factors contributing to it by 2015. Many people and many organizations have worked to achieve those goals; the Episcopal church has made them a mission priority. But we are nowhere near achieving them.
~It's ironic perhaps that as we focus on these goals--all aimed at reaching out to the world's poorest, least privileged people--our government is embroiled in figuring out how to salvage our financial institutions, institutions that have supported some the world's most privileged. I could tell you all the reasons that feels so wrong to me, but I've rambled on too long already. So just think about this: What might the world look like if we took that $700, 000, 000, 000 and instead of using it to save Wall Street we used it to feed hungry children and support schools for those children and buy medicine for those children and provide health care for those who need it. What might the world be like then?
~That isn't going to happen. But each one of us can do something: make a contribution to an organization working to achieve these goals (such as Episcopal Relief and Development) Each one of us can pledge to live on a little less so that others might have a little more. That's not asking too much, is it?
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