This is a Good Time to Read the Bible

President-Elect Trump has made some frightening Cabinet choices. He and his team, including Elon Musk, are saying frightening things about what they want to do. Our country and the world are still confronted by interlocking crises - extreme weather events, massive hunger and poverty, aggressive authoritarian powers, and many violent conflicts. I wish our incoming government well, but it seems unlikely that they will make things better.

It’s a good time to read the Bible, and I’m now making my way through the gospel of Luke. The first chapters are about Jesus’ birth, John the Baptist, and the early days of Jesus’ public life.  What most strikes me as I read them now is how much they refer to the Roman Empire and to the kings and priests who served as its local agents. 

“In those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria” (Lk. 2:1). Rome imposed oppressive taxes on the people it had conquered, and this empire-wide enrollment was designed to make sure everybody paid. For lots of families, that meant going without their daily bread. Many peasants were driven into impossible debt.

Luke’s account of John the Baptist starts with a detailed list of the governmental leaders of the day: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrach of the region of Ituraea and Trachnonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of the God came to John the son of Zachariah in the wilderness.”

This verse makes me smile - a wilderness preacher among all these powerful men. Yet the word of God came to John the Baptist.

After Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness he announces that God’s kingdom is at hand, “God has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

The promised kingdom of God will supplant the Roman empire, but the kingdom is also present right now. Sick people are healed. Blind people are given sight. Fisher folk are called to become missionaries. 

We’re like those fisher folk. We have relatively little power, but we carry the word of God and hope for a better world.  

I’m dealing with the stresses of our time by focusing on God’s forgiving love for humanity and on things I can do to make things better.

Four Encouraging Developments from the G20 Summit

Rev. Heather Taylor

Dr. Christine Sequenzia

Rev. Heather Taylor and Dr. Christine Sequenzia from Bread for the World attended the social summit in Brazil just before the G20 heads of state met this week. I was especially pleased by four outcomes from the G20 Summit.

First, the new Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty launched.  Eighty-one nations joined  before the launch, and more are in the process of joining. The website of the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty is now up.

My long-time colleague, Asma Lateef (now responsible for policy and advocacy at the SDG2 Advocacy Hub), reported, “I think the proof of the pudding will be once the secretariat is up and running. But it was great to see Bangladesh, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa talk about their commitments to the Alliance and one or more of the policy strategies the Alliance is promoting.”

In a panel discussion organized by Katherine Marshall of the Berkley Center at Georgetown University, my comments stressed the importance of the Alliance’s “board of champions.” 

Second, there was progress in Brazil on the replenishment of IDA, the World Bank’s fund for low-income countries. President Biden attended the Summit, and the United States increased its IDA commitment by 14%. The Bank is aiming for commitments of more than $100 billion over three years. We’ll see if the Trump administration lives up to this commitment. Financing is critical to the renewal of global progress against hunger and poverty. The alternative would include increased frustration and violence around the world.

Third, the closing declaration from the Summit affirmed the World Bank’s fuller use of its balance sheet to expand its lending. Ajay Banga, the president of the World Bank, spoke at the Borlaug Forum in Iowa this fall, and explained their ambitious plans. These include a commitment to bring electricity to half of the 600 million people in Africa who don’t have access to electricity now. 

Fourth, the G20 nations agreed to develop a Global Mobilization Against Climate Change, an initiative that will complement the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty.  President Lula of Brazil chaired the G20 Summit and will chair next year’s big environmental conference. He forcefully encouraged urgent action by all the G20 nations to make development sustainable and meet the internationally agreed climate goals.

During President Trump’s first term he withdrew the United States from the global climate-change agreement. If he does that again, the other nations of the world may move forward without U.S. leadership.

More on the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty

Given that U.S. leadership against global hunger and poverty is likely to be weaker over the next few years, it’s encouraging to see President Lula and other leaders from around the world working to get progress going again. 

Forty-five nations have joined the Alliance, and many more are in the process of joining. To become members, members and institutions are required to submit their plans to reduce hunger and poverty.

Here is a clip from an interview at the G20 Interfaith Forum which met a few months before the G20 Summit to share faith perspectives on global issues.