Healthcare -- The Right Thing to Do

Let’s see now, as I recall some basic Christian theology, we are in the “in-between” time – the time between the Resurrection of Jesus and the Second Coming. And if I am not mistaken, we who have chosen to follow Jesus are to work during this “in-between” time to bring about the Reign (or Kingdom) of God.

Throughout the centuries, that is why Christians have worked to help those who are poor, unfortunate, and despised by the world – all those acts of love and kindness that Jesus talked about. The first social services were often provided by Jesus’ followers – hospitals, places to care for the mentally ill, the homeless and abandoned children. Most every Christian knows the story in the 25th chapter of Matthew in which the King relates that the caring acts done for the least of the people in his kingdom are also done for him.

I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.

The meaning being that whatever we do for the needy, we also do for Jesus. Now we know that, but do we do it? And the thing we seem to have trouble doing is caring for the sick.

Let me say this, and say it strongly -- there is no reason on earth that we in America should not be able to provide basic health care for everyone. I don’t care how we do, but it must be done. And this needs to be on the top of every person’s agenda.

Congress -- just get it done. No more excuses. No more rationalization. No more mean-spirited reasons. Just do it.

When our founders declared independence from England they strongly believed that were certain human rights that were “inalienable” for human persons. They wrote in the Declaration of Independence that among those rights was the right to life, the right to liberty and the right to pursue “happiness.”

I don’t know about you, but knowing that I can afford good health gives me great happiness. Without the prospect of obtaining care when we are sick, how happy can we be? We talk about the right to life and we talk about the right of liberty, but I tell you that the right to pursue happiness is just as important. We are a rich nation. We can afford it. When an American gets sick he or she should be able to obtain adequate medical care at a cost that will not result in financial disaster for that person.

As children of God, we are to care for our brothers and sisters. And that means every American should have a decent job which can provide food, clothing, shelter and healthcare. Whether you think of yourself as a “child of God” or not, this simply is the right thing to do.

And if you are a priest or pastor, I hope that you have preached this message at least once this year. And it might be time to preach it again.