(RNS) — In President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” the word “beautiful” must be replaced with “betrayal.”
The huge budget bill that House Republicans passed and that lies now with the Senate will have a historic impact on America. It betrays the poor and vulnerable. It betrays the gospel of Jesus, who told us to serve and defend “the least of these.” Its transfer of funding from health care and food aid for low-income sick and hungry people to pay for tax cuts to billionaires is a betrayal of the principles of all our faith traditions — reversing the biblical morality that God prioritizes the marginalized and oppressed.
The bill also betrays the economic health and future of the nation, creating soaring debt, which will burden our children and grandchildren.
This bill is such a betrayal of Christian faith, churches must oppose it — and a growing number are.
It is ironic to call this a “reconciliation” bill when it tears apart the moral fabric that holds a society together. In Christianity, reconciliation means restoring right relationships — between ourselves and God, between people, and between the powerful and the powerless. But the “reconciliation” bill that Trump and the Republican leadership are pushing hard does the opposite: It strips support for the poor and vulnerable to finance tax breaks for the rich. It is a religious abomination.
In the last teaching before his crucifixion and resurrection, in the 25th chapter of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus instructed his followers to treat the poor and vulnerable just as they would treat him. “I was hungry … I was thirsty, … I was naked … I was a stranger (immigrant) … I was sick … I was in prison … As you have done to the least of these you have done to me.”
FILE – The Capitol and Washington Monument are seen at dawn on Jan. 7, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
If we take this seriously, the trillion-dollar calculus involved in this bill displays an anti-gospel logic.
When you add up massive cuts proposed to Medicaid and SNAP, you end up slashing more than $1 trillion from the most needy among us. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reports the bill could result in over 15 million people losing health coverage and 3.2 million people losing food and nutrition support. Other nonpartisan research and policy organizations, like the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, detail the harm that will be caused.
In fact, simply denying further tax cuts to Americans who make more than $500,000 per year would make cuts to Medicaid and SNAP unnecessary.
To add insult to injury, this bill would add $2.4 trillion to the rising federal deficit over 10 years — something that fiscal conservatives and deficit hawks used to say they were against, demonstrating hypocrisy extending into cruelty.
Christians across the country are raising their voices to say that a budget is a moral document — not just a financial statement — revealing who is important and who is not. Rooted in 2,000 verses in the Bible telling us to serve and defend the poor, diverse faith communities are calling out the injustice of policies that harm the poor while enriching the powerful.
Despite Christian differences on some political and moral issues, this is not one of them. As this bill is considered in the Senate, faith communities and congregations will put their faith into action, gathering to demand a moral budget that reflects true reconciliation: by seeking justice, protecting the vulnerable and affirming the dignity of every person.
Many senators who identify as Christian will have to reconcile their faith against this vote. Pentecost, which this year falls on Sunday (June 8), is when Christians celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit and the courage of the early disciples, who were hiding in fear of retaliation, going into the streets for public witness to the gospel of Jesus.
This year, church history and teaching will come together with the ironic timing of a June 10 (Tuesday) Senate debate on a bill with gospel metrics alongside the political calculations. Senators will see clergy and lay faith leaders coming in robes, collars and religious stoles to the Capitol in large processions, vigils and visits. They will bring with them prayers, music and Bible readings that call us to serve and stand with the poor and oppressed.
Complexities and a narrow margin of votes will come into play in the Senate and perhaps will also show unexpected results of faith. Sometimes faith leaders need to speak against what is just wrong and need to remind us all that the gospel of Jesus Christ was always meant to be “good news to the poor.”
(The Rev. Jim Wallis is the Arch-Bishop Desmond Tutu chair of faith and justice at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, and inaugural director of the Center on Faith and Justice at Georgetown. He’s the author of “The False White Gospel.” The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of RNS.)
