The Merchants of the Earth Weep and Mourn

Greetings,

I must confess to you that I don’t venture into the Biblical Book of The Revelation very often. Its language is highly symbolic, and it has always bothered me how often the violent imagery found there has been used to build up the picture of a very angry and dangerous God, from whom we are protected by the presence of Jesus Christ. This image of God does not square with the many times Jesus tells people to stop worrying about God’s love for them. When he does make reference to divinely authored negative consequences, he is usually addressing the powerful religious leaders who heap scorn and blame onto ordinary people.

Still, whether or not God is just waiting to get revenge on us for our evil behavior, there are still consequences that emanate from human actions and systems. Jesus goes to great length to point to the “Realm of God” whose foundations rest on mutual caring for the well-being of all. From that perspective, The Revelation predicts the dire consequences of social, economic, and governmental systems that are based on greed and privilege.

In the 18^th Chapter of The Revelation, we get to look at the destruction of the great city of Babylon from the perspective of the merchants:

And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, cargo of gold, silver, jewels and pearls, fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet, all kinds of scented wood, all articles of ivory, all articles of costly wood, bronze, iron, and marble, cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, olive oil, choice flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, slaves—and human lives.

“The fruit for which your soul longed

has gone from you,

and all your dainties and your splendor

are lost to you,

never to be found again!”

The merchants of these wares, who gained wealth from her, will stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud,

“Alas, alas, the great city,

clothed in fine linen,

in purple and scarlet,

adorned with gold,

with jewels, and with pearls!

For in one hour all this wealth has been laid waste!”

I don’t want to oversimplify, but I have come to believe that whenever wealth becomes more important than relationship and community, then destruction always threatens. The destruction does not have to be spawned by God’s wrath in order to be a real danger. The fundamental danger of such economic systems is that they are primarily adversarial – they force people to fight with one another and to outbid one another, thereby jacking up the price paid to the merchants.

In these last few days, the world markets have been rocked by the failure of a couple of very large financial institutions. I am no economist, but it seems clear that the greedy push for ever greater profits, without regard for community’s fabric has been a fundamental cause of their demise. And when they fall, we all suffer. Those at the top of the pile seem to be the most insulated from the consequences, although, I’m sure there is weeping and mourning over how much “wealth has been laid waste.”

But there is a dirty little secret in our present economic system. And that is that we are all forced to play in it. When we have pension funds, mortgages on our homes, and the unceasing call for us to use credit for all the “fruits for which our souls have [been trained to] long”, when we are made so vulnerable by the very system that is supposed to help us, then we are all made to share the blame. “Well, you didn’t have to use your credit card!” “You didn’t have to get a mortgage that large!” “You didn’t have to invest your retirement money in the stock market!”

To a degree, our complicity in keeping the problem going is factual. But, what are the alternatives. If we don’t play that game, what other choice do we have? And does Healthy Liberal Christianity have any legitimate place in trying to find these answers?

Jesus saw clearly that the common people were largely victims of the systems that were established and enforced by the powerful. He did not blame the victims. Instead, he articulated a different systemic vision and called upon people to take it seriously and live by it. We can clearly see the dangers of our modern Babylon, so will we use our influence to create a system that is based more in relationship than in greed and fear? Or will we “stand far off, in fear of the torment, weeping and mourning aloud?”

What do you think?

Wayne

"Never place a period where God has placed a comma." Gracie Allen

The United Church___of Christ