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"The gates to Maracana opened at 5 A.M., and in a matter of hours nearly 160,000 people had filled both the ground-level seats and the upper-deck benches, as well as the sunken standing- room area surrounding the grassy surface where Brazil's elite soccer players normally cavort.

On one side of the playing field a precariously anchored cross-towered over a stage that covered nearly a hundred square yards. A sixty-thousand-watt sound system amplified religious hymns, some of which borrowed melodies from popular favorites such as 'Bridge Over Troubled Waters." The multitude, which had come on foot and by public transportation from Rio de Janeiro's poorer neighborhoods, and on chartered buses from other regions of the country, sang with unabashed enthusiasm. Many were in wheel-chairs or on crutches or displayed other physical infirmities. They belonged to the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, and had assembled to hear their soi-disant bishop, Edir Macedo, who mounted the platform shortly after ten A.M. to proclaim the living Christ and to ask those of his flock beset by health problems to stand up and place their hands on the afflicted parts of their bodies.

"In the name of the Lord," he intoned, "let the evil forces that possess a husband, a wife, or a child, that bring AIDS or cancer, let them leave now." The spectators began to chant "Out! Out!' and soon people on all sides were emitting loud cries, or convulsing, or fainting.

As a follow-up, the bishop called on persons with eyeglasses to pass them up to the stage, and scores of believers immediately complied. Macedo and several of his assistants arranged them in a pile. "God will make you see," the bishop declared, whereupon he joined his aides in stomping on the glasses and reducing them to fragments.

In the final portion of the service, neatly dressed church workers passed among the multitude with sacks that soon bulged with cash contributions, as Bishop Macedo instructed his flock, "The more you give, the more you'll receive."

The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God is but one of a number of Pentecostal sects that are in the forefront in the vertiginous growth of evangelical Protestantism in Brazil, a development that threatens to rob the country of its status as the largest Roman Catholic nation in the world, and to bring about dramatic, far-reaching changes in the texture of Brazilian society"

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How do you react to a story like that? I react with appalled and amazed fascination. Christian Pentecostalism is on the move in Brazil and we saw signs of its presence everywhere on our recent trip. Poverty is extreme in Brazil, even as there is great wealth. Religion, in its many forms, appeals to the many "have nots." Traditional Catholicism, imported by the Portuguese, has taught that if you suffer patiently now, your reward will be in heaven after death. Liberation Theology (which actually began in Brazil) teaches that nobody deserves to be a "have not" and that religious salvation is inseparable from economic and political empowerment. And the Afro-Brazilian cults (religions brought by the slaves that worked the sugar and coffee plantations) teach that we are surrounded by an invisible spirit world, and that happiness in this world of sorrow can come by learning how to navigate through this spirit world, getting evil spirits cast out and letting benevolent spirits enter you.

Onto to this scene has come Pentecostalism. The Brazilian version teaches three basic tenets: First, by accepting Jesus Christ, you can be cured of physical illnesses. Two, your personal life and character can be transformed and improved by the casting out of demons. And three, your goal in life must be to uplift yourself by working hard, making money, and moving out of poverty. That is the sign of God’s blessing. It is a straight forward message of spiritual and economic self-improvement.

This message is tremendously appealing to the poor. Slum dwellers in Rio can see signs of affluence all around them, for Brazil has a booming economy (fifth largest in the world). Yet they live in abject poverty.

I have no answer to the questions of what is best for Brazil and the meaning of the rise of Pentecostalism there. But I am curious and want to learn more. And the situation there makes me want to reflect on my own faith as well. Liberation theology, the most appealing option to me as an outsider looking on, seems to be struggling. The kind of empowerment it talks about – economic and political – is criticized by the Catholic hierarchy and the Pope as too influenced by communism. A discouraged Catholic liberal has said, "The Church opted for the poor, but the poor have opted for Pentecostalism." The Pentecostals indeed seem effective with their message that power begins with spiritual power – the power of Jesus Christ, and then leads to economic and political power – God’s rewards for faith. It is not hard to see why this message would have a great appeal to the "have nots" of this world.

The message of the prophet Isaiah is a powerful spiritual as well as social message. Isaiah (here it is the unnamed prophet we call "Second Isaiah’) spoke to a generation of "have nots" – the Hebrew people in exile. They had lost everything – homes, temple, Jerusalem. They feared that they would lose their religious identity, strangers living in the strange land of Babylon. The "haves" of this world need to be afflicted with a word of judgment. The "have nots" of this world need a word of hope. And Second Isaiah offers that hope. He says "You are coming home. It is going to happen. Trust, believe, God is with you."

What is the difference between being a "have" and a "have not" in this world? Let me suggest this. The "have nots" of this world understand, on a daily basis, what it means to be powerless. Powerless. They know what it means to be victimized by arbitrary political authority. They know what it means to be victimized by erratic economic factors – like rampant inflation. They know what it means to be without health care and vulnerable to disease. The favela dwellers in Rio know what it is like to be surrounded by violent crime, drugs, prostitution, even child criminals who steal and murder. And if you believe in a spirit world, as in the cults, you also believe you are helpless before invisible forces. In short, the "haves nots" of this world start with the assumption that at the very core of human existence, each of us is helpless before the visible and invisible forces that rule everything.

What about the "haves" of this world? The "haves" (you and I) have managed to convince ourselves that we have some power in life. We are in control. We make decisions that matter. We can assume we will make it through the day, and things will be fine. Because of our possessions and our power we tell ourselves that we are pretty much in charge and protected from evil forces. We are not, therefore, desperate people, like others. We are composed.

We feel that way, that is, until something goes wrong. And when something goes wrong, suddenly our perspective changes. Catastrophic illness. Sudden death. Intense and continuing physical pain. Fire. Robbery. A downturn in the stock market. And it all changes. Powerlessness is what you feel when the doctor says "I am sorry. There is nothing more we can do." Powerlessness is what you feel when in an instant your whole life is turned upside down. And when you feel powerless, you will seek help wherever you can find it.

Isaiah says to the exiles "You are coming home. In a way you are going to be haves again. Your land will be returned, your cities rebuilt, and your Temple reestablished. But remember this. What nourishes you is God."

Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters;
and you that have no money, come, buy and eat!
come, buy wine and milk without money or price.

Jesus said that he came that we might have life and have it in abundance. Life is about abundance – spiritual abundance and physical abundance. But we are sustained, first and foremost by Spirit. The trouble with being a "have" is that we all too quickly come to believe that our soul is fed by possessions. And when we feel that our possessions are sustaining us, the tragedy is that we lose touch with our spiritual thirst. But Jesus said "Blessed are the poor in Spirit." "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness." The "haves" of this world are in danger of becoming spiritually deadened, depressed, not aware anymore of the urgent thirst for God we all have.

It seems to me that Isaiah is offering a kind of Gospel message to us. "Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters." Who? Everyone. And what is the requirement to receive this water? That you are thirsty and you come. Over five hundred years later, Jesus of Nazareth said this: "If anyone is thirsty, let them come to me and drink." (John 7:37). Anyone. Everyone. Do you feel thirsty? Good – because the chances are you are dying of spiritual thirst. Do you feel hungry? Good – because you are probably spiritually malnourished. Do you feel helpless? Very good. Because you are. That is reality. The reality is that you and I are these little specks of dust, buffeted around by forces totally beyond us. And the idea that we are in charge of much of anything is a mind-game and an illusion. Does anyone feel helpless, asks Jesus? Come to me for strength.

Think how revolutionary this is. What are the qualifications, the requirements, the expectations, for you to be nourished? To know you are thirsty and turn to Jesus Christ. That’s it. That’s all. Well, you ask, but where is God? Well, that’s good news, too, because God is as close to you as God can possibly be. God is saying "I have come as near to you as I am able. I’ve done everything I can do. I’ve made it as easy as I possibly can." What does Isaiah say? "Seek the Lord while he may be found. Call upon him while he is near." The God that will quench your thirst, feed your soul, and empower in your heart, is right there in your face, waiting for you to say you need help. Any barrier between you and God is the one you have erected – I don’t measure up. I didn’t fill out the application correctly. I am a sinner. You are not my concept of God. If you feel alienated from God, you’re responsible for that, not God.

But isn’t that good news? Do you see the power in the simplicity of Jesus’ message, and yet how difficult we insist on making it? This great God can do everything and anything in the whole universe. But the one thing God can’t do is force you to turn to God and love and trust God. There God is powerless, too. That is the one thing you must choose to do. And, amazingly, it is the only thing you have to do. The only thing. Seek ye first, the kingdom of God, and then all else will be given unto you.

An 14^th century Christian mystic put it this way:

…lift up your sick self just as you are, and through your longing, touch good, gracious God just as (God) is…For you are touching God’s very being,

"Through your longing." I find that wonderful. What about all those things about yourself that you feel bad about? Forget them. Feel only your longing, that urgent thirst, and reach out to God. And that goes for all those things in yourself that are so terrific. Forget about them, too. Feel only your urgent thirst, and come to Jesus to drink.

I began with a story about the Pentecostals in Brazil. However one feels about the possibilities for religious exploitation of those in need, or the vulnerability of the "have nots" of this world to abuse, nevertheless, I think there is a valuable lesson. And that is that our true religious impulse is grounded in our encounter with the helplessness to be found at the very core of our being. That helplessness is the very feeling we most want to protect ourselves from, yet it is the very feeling that can open the door of life to us. AMEN.

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