20th Sunday after Pentecost
Philippians 4:1-9
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved. I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life. Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.
What We Do
Today, I’m want to talk about something that I usually don’t like to talk about. I don’t even like thinking about it. It’s my student loans. There’s all kinds of reasons why people don’t want to talk about their debt: it’s embarrassing, it’s private, maybe they’re in denial about it, and while all of those are true to some extent, for me, the main reason that I don’t talk or think about it is because any time that I do, I am overcome with despair. This overwhelming sense of hopelessness just washes over me, and it just makes me sad. I don’t like talking about or thinking about my student loans ‘cuz there really isn’t a lot that I can do about them. Now, things have gotten a little bit better since Covid, when the rules changed, and pastors became eligible for public service loan forgiveness. But, that is a ten-year process. For anyone who hasn’t been paying attention, student loans just went back into repayment, after being put on hold because of Covid, and I have a little bit of a clergy tax situation that I’m working out with my accountant, right now, so it’s just making me a little nervous.
There’s an unfair burden placed on students going to college in the United States. A year of education after high school in this country generally costs anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000, and of course it’s even higher for some private schools. Now, it’s true that some students are able to get through school on scholarships, but those students are not the norm. The sad truth is that over 40 million Americans have student loan debt, of which 27% owe over $40,000.
And, I know, some people wonder, “Why take on so much debt?” Why not go to school part time and work to pay for it? I actually did have a few part-time jobs while I was in school. But, it’s pretty much impossible to pay for school, and rent, and food, and insurance, and car maintenance, and everything else that you have to pay for, while trying to keep up your grades and graduate in any reasonable amount of time, with just your part-time job. And, to be honest, it was a conscious choice. I wanted to focus on school. I only have so much focus and energy to give, and I knew I wouldn’t make it if I had to get a “real job” and go to school at the same time.
When I first started seminary, the person who was in charge of processing everyone’s loans gave a presentation on student loans and debt repayment. There was one thing she said that has really stuck with me through the years, “Hope is not a plan.” Hope is not a plan. It was pretty funny at the time; it’s still funny, but this was a group of seminary students she was talking to. Brand new seminary students; you can’t tell them that hope is not a plan. For someone going into ministry, hope is the only plan.
If you haven’t felt the call to a vocation, it’s hard to explain that pull towards your future. How do you explain that this choice that you’re making, really isn’t even a choice at all? That this is something you have to do? For someone going into seminary, that force, that thing that’s pulling you, that’s God! How do you not have hope when it’s God who is telling you what to do? Hope is not a plan. When God is calling you to do something, all you have is the hope that it’s going to work.
In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he writes, “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.” Our goal is always to look towards the light. To trust in God and to do good works. To have hope. Sometimes that means blindly stumbling forward into the future that God is pulling you towards, even if it means that you’re not quite sure what that future is going to look like. Sometimes it means going to seminary, even though you know you can’t pay for it. Sometimes it means working as a live-in caregiver, even if you have absolutely no experience doing that. Sometimes it means moving to Montana, even when you have never thought for one second about moving to Montana.
God pushes us into all of these situations for a purpose. There’s work to do. Individually and as a congregation, we have work to do. Our focus right now is on our unsheltered population, and rightfully so with winter right around the corner. And, there are so many more things that we need to bring our attention to. We live in a time that is fundamentally unfair. A person’s worth is weighed by the color of their skin, by their social status, their sexuality, their gender, their religion. A person’s worth is measured by their weight, by their height, how attractive they are, the language they speak, their level of education and where that education came from.
The problems that we face as a nation with soaring tuition costs and the rise in homelessness are symptoms of a larger problem. They are symptom of bigotry and greed, the tribalism and selfishness that exists in our society. We bicker about healthcare, and the minimum wage, and education as if they weren’t human rights. As if living above the poverty line was a luxury. I saw someone write once that having such a low minimum wage meant that we as a society have decided that these jobs are necessary, but that the people who do these jobs should be poor. I haven’t been able to get that out of my head.
But, it doesn’t have to be this way. Jesus taught us a better way. Jesus came to be a force of renewal and change, a force of healing and reconciliation. He came to speak out against the status quo.
Education is necessary, and everyone should have access to it. Other countries have figured this out, to varying degrees. In a survey of 35 countries, 1/3 third of those countries charged no tuition for native-born students. Norway charges no tuition at all for any of its students, regardless of where they come from. There’s just one catch. You need to be fluent in Norwegian in order to understand your professors.
In countries where tuition is charged for higher education, the costs generally range from $1,000 to $5,000 per year. The United States, with our $10,000-$20,000 per year price tag, is an outlier.
So, who benefits from this? Why do we do this if education is so important? Are we trying to say that education is only for the rich? Or, are we using it as a tool to keep a portion of our population oppressed?
Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. Poor and hungry. Is there any better way to describe someone in college? But, that description fits so many people in our society. We just wrapped up five weeks of discussions about homelessness, and the discussions are ongoing with the Move-the-Dial program. At Carroll College this week, Ed Field debuted his travelling portrait gallery of our unsheltered neighbors, and it’s already booked to appear around town through the beginning of next year. We’re having our “Give Homelessness the Boot” fundraiser, right now, and we just raised $5,000 to buy sleeping bags for people who might have to sleep outside.
We are involved. We are trying to help. But, like the student loan issue, homelessness is just a symptom of a larger problem. We have to stay vigilant against the apathy that is constantly eating away at our defenses, telling us that local actions are enough. It is only by changing society that true change will happen. That means talking to your neighbors, calling and writing letters, and voting.
If we choose love over hatred, kindness over selfishness, patience over fear, then things will change. And, we can change this world into a holy place and live as God intended us to live. Amen.
~ Rev. Charles Wei
