Psalm Offering 4, Opus 7
A prayer for the victims of corporate Greed.
Psalm Offering 4 Opus 7: A prayer for the victims of corporate Greed. (c) 2017, Robert Charles Wagner. All rights reserved.
We have become orphans, fatherless; our mothers are like widows. We must pay for the water we drink; the wood we get must be bought. With a yoke on our necks we are hard driven; we are weary, we are given no rest. Young men are compelled to grind, and boys stagger under loads of wood. The old men have left the city gate, the young men their music. The joy of our hearts has ceased; our dancing has been turned to mourning. (Lamentations 5: 3-5, 13-15, NRSV)
In you, they take bribes to shed blood; you take both advance interest and accrued interest, and make gain of your neighbors by extortion; and you have forgotten me, says the Lord God. (Ezechial 22:12, NRSV)
Do not be afraid when some become rich, when the wealth of their houses increases. For when they die they will carry nothing away; their wealth will not go down after them. Though in their lifetime they count themselves happy —for you are praised when you do well for yourself— they will go to the company of their ancestors, who will never again see the light. (Psalm 49: 16-19, NRSV)
“No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” (Matthew 6: 24, NRSV)
Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you. Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days. Listen! The wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous one, who does not resist you. (James 5: 1-6, NRSV)
REFLECTION: In the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 16, Jesus tells the story of the Rich Man and the poor beggar, Lazarus. The Rich Man, who has grown wealthy on the backs of the poor, lives life lavishly, feasting on the delights of wealth while Lazarus lives in destitution outside the Rich Man’s door. Jesus tells us that the Rich Man dies and goes to eternal damnation, while Lazarus ascends into everlasting happiness and life. St Francis of Assisi declared that it was not Pride that was the deadliest of the 7 deadly sins. Rather, Greed was the most deadly of sins. This pattern of the rich growing richer and the poor growing poorer remains true to our present day. The wealthy continue to prey on the vulnerable taking whatever they can to increase their wealth. Our forests are denuded, our water and food poisoned, our air unbreathable, and our land despoiled all to increase the wealth of the very few. Even basic healthcare is taken away from the poor who are in need of it the most so that the rich will not have to pay higher taxes. Jesus issues a stern warning to those who rely on their wealth for happiness (see Matthew 6:24 above).
QUESTIONS TO PONDER: In what way does Greed dominate my life? Am I willing to destroy others, to exploit others for my own personal gain? Am I willing to sacrifice my integrity, my family, my very soul for wealth? Do the things I have control me and own me? Do I identify with the rich and seek to emulate them? Jesus did not identify himself with the rich and the powerful of his time. He chose to live in solidarity with the poor and the despised of his society. How comfortable am I to be in solidarity with the poor and to identify myself with the poor?
ABOUT THE MUSIC
The overall form of the music is in three part ABA form. The A melody is in the key area of E based on the Greek mixolydian mode. The A melody begins with a loud fanfare of powerful, open chords and glissandos, followed by ascending and descending triplets in both hands. The melody has a frenetic quality to it. It is symbolic of the restless pursuit of wealth and power by people and corporations. The B melody continues in the E mixolydian mode at a much slower tempo, modulates briefly to a D dorian mode, then back to the E mixolydian mode. The B melody reflects the plight of those exploited and destroyed by the rich and powerful. The A melody is recapitulated only to be in the key area of B Greek locrian mode, returning at the Coda to E mixolydian mode. The false doctrine of greed as a virtuous path to happiness gets crushed as the music ends with powerful, open chords.
