"The foreclosure crisis has become both a personal and a pastoral issue for us, and we are struggling to make sense of the fundamental unfairness that underlies it. The banks and other financial institutions whose behavior is most responsible for this crisis have been saved from failure by the American taxpayers, while many of those least responsible are losing jobs and homes.
As I grapple with this contradiction, I keep coming back to the concept of grace. When the government tried to save the economy from meltdown, real grace was extended to the big banks -- but now the banks seem unwilling to extend grace to anyone else, including homeowners struggling to make mortgage payments. I am reminded of one of the parables of Jesus, wherein a master forgives the debt of one of his servants out of pity for his circumstances, but then that servant refuses to forgive the debt of another servant who owes him a little money. The master gets angry and throws the unforgiving debtor into prison. The money-changers in the temples of Wall Street would do well to take note."
Jim Wallis always has something to say worth listening to. Read it all here from the Washington Post.
2 comments:
That was a great post, Peter! Jim Wallis's article, and the response he is getting in the USA to his proposal for community action against the biggest banks is of far greater importance in my mind than our wrangling over the proposed Covenant.
Would the Covenant process for handling differences help or hinder our reception of a prophetic voice like Jim's?
Is Jim's voice (a) controversial (b) controversial to the point that another church which is a member of the Communion felt concerned enough to embark on the process of drawing to the attention of the relevant authorities that this controversy should be looked into ... oh, and (c) is Jim a member of a constituent member of the Anglican Communion?
In short: no worries!
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