We're All Going to Die!

 While I am generally in favor of legislative alliteration, President Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” has some worrying provisions. In addition to adding trillions to the national debt, it would make drastic cuts to programs like SNAP and Medicare which millions of vulnerable Americans depend on.

This led to an interesting exchange between Republican US Senator Joni Ernst and her constituency at an Iowa town hall meeting she held at 7:30 AM on a Friday. A retired healthcare provider named Karen Franczyk voiced her concern that the bill would cut the main source of revenue for hospitals in rural areas. During the larger discussion on the cuts, another attendee shouted “People are going to die!” to which the senator dismissively retorted, “We are all going to die”.

This led to enough backlash that Senator Ernst quickly posted a sarcastic apology video of her walking through a cemetery while invoking the Easter bunny before ending with an alter call to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. This undoubtedly wrapped up any lingering concerns her constituents had about their ability to access meals and medicine.

While many have angrily categorized her comments and apology as calloused – especially coming from someone who enjoys some of the best tax-payer funded healthcare in the world – I am of the opinion that she has stumbled upon the ultimate response to literally any question.

Will you go to prom with me? I can’t because we are all going to die.

Has the jury reached a verdict? – We have your honor. We’re all going to die.

Mommy can I have a cell phone? Well, I would go ahead and add another line to our family plan, but the activation fee is steep and, oh yes, we are all going to die!!

No matter the subject or context, you can always extricate yourself from an uncomfortable line of inquiry by reminding everyone around you of humanity’s shared, inevitable march toward grim death. It is as if we all chipped in to give existential dread an expense account and .gov email presence.

Senator Ernst is exhibiting what is sometimes known as “lifeboat evangelism” which operates under the assumption that the primary objective of Christian discipleship is to secure the eternity of as many people as possible. Sure, she may have actively played a role in dismantling the only thing standing between impoverished children and life-saving medical treatment, but don’t worry little Timmy, your premature demise will be inconsequential once you hear your name when the roll is called up yonder. I am just glad that Senator Sunshine’s career path did not veer into commercial aviation or pediatric oncology.

The idea that our highest calling as followers of Jesus is to secure the afterlife of those whom we encounter is not a new one (or a difficult one to sell). My issue is that it is impossible to reconcile with the words and actions of Jesus during his earthly ministry. That is not to say that he did not address death or what follows it. He simply didn’t prioritize it over alleviating the suffering that preceded it.

Time and time again- sometimes to the chagrin of his own disciples – he interrupted his perceived priorities to address the anguish and misery of those he encountered. The blind, paralytics, lepers, the disabled and even the servant of a centurion were all recipients of his healing. If his only objective was to secure their future glory, why did he spend so much time alleviating their present misery?

One answer would be that he healed them so that people would believe in him which would lead to his ultimate objective. There are a few problems with that idea, not the least of which is that while faith may produce miracles, miracles do not necessarily produce faith. After all, many of those who actively worked against the earthly ministry of Jesus were present for some his most spectacular interventions.

This would also undermine the profound empathy displayed by Jesus toward the wounded. I do not believe that he viewed them as marketing tools, but as human beings. When asked how to pray, Jesus responded with "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

This would be a curious prayer for someone who believed that his father’s creation and image-bearers were beyond redemption. If there is no disease, poverty, inequality and suffering to be found in Heaven, why do we tolerate (and sometimes legislate) its proliferation on earth?

Senator Ernst's official Facebook account recently posted a photo of her visit to the Washington Nationals baseball stadium. She made the grievous error of posting a photo of herself wearing a batting helmet. The current most popular comment? "Why bother with the helmet? We are all going to die, Joni!"