healthcare reform redux

All the debate going on about the healthcare issue has made me very sad. No-one seems to be listening to anyone else very well. Comments that I read on blogs and newssites from all over the spectrum are filled with misinformation and fear and judgment of the other side. One friend simply sighed and asked, “What the hell is wrong with people?”

I can understand the sentiment. I have not seen such craziness over an issue for a long time. The arguments have taken on a life of their own, almost dwarfing the original issue which is providing health care for those with none – and it seems too big to fix.

My last blog post on this issue (part of the August Synchroblog) brought a series of interesting emails from an interesting mix of folks. One wanted me to find the energy of the divine through some new age guru and others were helpfully warning me that I do not know the will of God for America.

But my friend James’s blog brought some great challenges and questions for me. You can read his blog here. The blog name is “Ecclesial Dreamer” which says it all. He has high hopes for the Church. He’s a breath of fresh air and offers me an opportunity for more thought and reflection. How cool is that? I wish we could all converse the way he does.

So, in response I can say that I see that I may have implied that what I mean for the Church to lead the way on this social justice issue is to support the government. That’s not always a bad thing, especially when the government is doing something that is truly in line with our own calling, such as caring for the poor. But that was not my intent. He also asks what it means for the Church to “lead the way” on this important issue and I hope to offer some clarity on these things.

Why we should help to see a viable public option happen:

It’s not that I think the solution to the problem is the government. But the reality is, we, the Church, are doing little about the 48 million who are not covered. Nor the thousands of kids in foster care. The 2,000 verses in the scriptures that refer directly to poverty and inequity ought to inform something about our obligations here. So, I do believe we should help to solve the huge problems inherent in creating a viable public option. People need help now. And as an aside, I do not support this because I believe in big government. Many have assumed that because I like Obama that I like everything he does and that I must be a Democrat, as if it’s all or nothing. They would be wrong. And now you may assume you know what party I support and you’d be wrong again – neener, neener! And this is not and must not be a partisan issue.

It is definitely not about identifying ourselves with a particular political party. Doing so has already introduced strange hybrids of “Christianity” into the Church and has changed how we understand ourselves. Most of the fear and misinformation seems to come from an adherence to that sort of thinking and not so much from what reflects the heart of Christ. I certainly don’t want more of that. For Christians, this should be a non-partisan issue, a Christ issue. Can we also call for the parties to stop undermining and resisting one another and work together? The problems are too big for one party to hold all the answers.

I do know that the current systems in government run health care (Medicaid & Medicare) are a labyrinth of wasted money and bureaucracy. However, I hope we can offer more in the area of helping to solve those problems even as we lean into creating an option for the people that those services currently do not cover. Waiting for these problems to be fixed simply leaves too many out in the cold. As my friend Kathy says, it’s easy to be against health care reform when you’ve got insurance, or in this case, it’s easy to be too patient in waiting for it to come about. (read her blog here) We don’t feel the urgency for others if we’re ok. We must work within the reality of broken systems.

What I am hoping is for our collective voice to reflect the compassion of Christ in this debate. I hope that others would hear our concern for those who are in need and that we care about this issue because of Christ. May our nation come to understand Christians as those who will stand in the gap for the sake of others. May our opposition be that which helps to make a better program, not to kill it all together and leave people in the lurch. This is part of how the Church can lead the way.

Why a viable public option is not truly the solution:

I don’t really want the government to be the answer, even as I fervently hope that some sort of healthcare option will be birthed through all this. I certainly agree with James and others that the church can do more to help those without health insurance. I want us to be us – who we really are in Christ which is like Him in this world. In that light, James rightly pointed out that we spend a large amount of money on buildings and programs and flat screen TVs that could be better used to serve those who are unable to pay for health care. Amen, amen, amen! That is a vision I long to see come to pass in my church and yours. Pooling our resources together can cover large bills. My husband and I are grateful for our church’s “First Help” fund which has helped people with medical bills, rent and other essentials. But we also lament that carrying a big building mortgage takes so much away from this kind of work.

In addition however, we also need to consider the scriptures that emphasize our personal responsibilities. Take for example, the story of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16: 19-31. The story reflects on a relationship between a rich man and a poor one, emphasizing that the rich man had received good things in life and Lazarus the poor man, did not. Then, after death the rich man is suffering not for being rich, but apparently for his lack of regard for Lazarus during his lifetime. The story is not about the religious community failing Lazarus, it’s specifically about this man who shut his eyes to his brother’s struggles. We each are our brother’s and sister’s keeper. We need to ask, who are those who are suffering nearby, right outside our gates? Our personal responsibilities may be right in front of us. We more often think of our money as our money to build our own castles and not a resource to be used for the Kingdom.

Then there’s the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10: 25-37), which features a man who is unencumbered by a belief that he cannot taint himself by touching a ill person (unlike the Priest and the Levite). He saw a man injured by robbers and left for dead and so he stopped, gave aid and used his own money to provide ongoing rest and care for him. Jesus pointed out that unlike the religious men, this Samaritan reflected the heart of God who pushes our understanding of “who is my neighbor” far out beyond the boundaries of our small and selfish hearts.

So then, are we willing to give our own resources, personally and generously to help another in their medical needs? Sell the RV to pay for an uninsured man’s surgery? Take a neighbor’s kids for immunizations or throat swabs and antibiotics when they’re sick? While we’re at it, what if we lived in smaller houses and drove smaller cars in order to have more available cash – not merely for our own pleasure and security but so others can eat, have medical care and homes? Some in the early church were known to fast so those without food could eat. Many sold all that they had so that their “riches” could be distributed to the poor.

This is where the rubber meets the road. This is truly how the Church can lead the way. If we are to let go of the securities of the world and be who we really are, we need to be praying and leaning into these very things. Resist the government’s attempts at aid all you want, but please ask, what are we each willing to be and do for a hurting world and to reflect the heart of God? What is God asking of our church community and personally of each of us?