In 1729, Jonathan Swift wrote the satiric essay A Modest Proposal, published in pamphlet form to influence compassion for the starving Irish. The satire ridiculed the British politicians, elites and landowners who did not see the poor Irish as a problem of human misery and suffering but rather as an inconvenience. The ridiculous proposal that the poor Irish could sell their babies as expensive delicacies to satisfy the appetites of the rich shed light on how the rich dehumanize the poor. The hope of satire is for people to see the error and excesses of their ways more clearly and change for the good.
The dehumanization of the poor today is in full view with the 90% cut of USAID to reduce government spending and offset the reduction of taxes for the richest Americans. This modest proposal of cutting less than one third of 1 percent of our $6.8 trillion annual federal spending is costing the lives of the poor around the world and inflicting unnecessary pain, illness and suffering on our fellow human beings.
Satire can also be found in parables told by biblical prophets and Christ. The prophet Nathan helped David see the error of his ways more clearly, and Christ gently presents our reflection in a mirror through stories and satire in the hope we will change for the good.
During this Season of Lent as Christians prepare for Holy Week, the 40 days of preparation allude to Jesus’ 40-day sojourn in the wilderness and temptation. A closer look of Jesus’ interaction with his Tempter reveals a satire in the modest proposals presented. What each temptation has in common is the appeal to escape one’s humanity … the journey of life which we celebrate also takes us down roads we find unbearable and through life’s transitions and losses, which at times overwhelm us. We need not be surprised that Christ’s temptations occur in the wilderness. These are the times we are especially vulnerable to opportunities for escapism.
What stands out for me is the nature of the temptations which confront Christ. If someone asked you to command a stone to become bread, would you be tempted to do so? Neither would I, for the same reason. It is not humanly possible. Christ is being tempted to be God … at his lowest, most vulnerable place on his human journey, hungry and exhausted, Jesus is given the opportunity to escape this “God-awful” human experience and become who he is and who he had the power to be … God.
However, the whole purpose of Christ’s incarnation is to become one of us and to be with us – Emmanuel means “God with us.” Jesus came to experience both the height of our joys and the depth of our anguish without abandoning us, so we can be confident that wherever life take us we do not walk alone. Christ came to join us in our humanity, and when the going got tough and the temptation was there, he did not retreat into being God. He did not in the wilderness, he did not in the Garden of Gethsemane and he did not on the cross. Jesus stays with us, as one of us, even unto death.
Unlike Christ, you and I cannot always endure the human experience. The temptation to escape and to pretend we are like God is enormous. The ironic tragedy is that we often experience more pain when we succumb to escape rather than walking through the valley and wilderness before us. All God really asks of us is to be human, embrace our humanity, accept our limitations and weaknesses, and, rather than dehumanize those that suffer, have mercy, share and comfort one other along the way of life.
Truly “A Modest Proposal.” Amen.
The Rev. Dr. Blythe Denham Kieffer is pastor and head of staff at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Springfield.
Community column sponsored by Heartland Credit Union.
This article appears in Mar 27 – Apr 2, 2025.
