Materialism: An Accuser

“If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday.” Isaiah 58:9b-10

            Materialism has been at the forefront of my mind recently, and it seemed only appropriate for me to reflect on it when the reading in the Lectionary was the one above. Materialism has been showing its face to me in so many different ways lately, and I noticed that when I look into it, I see both the face of a menacing, demonic gargoyle and an attractive, well-crafted idol.

            For pretty much as long as there has been a Judeo-Christian culture, there has been materialism. It’s been something that comes up in so many writings, from Exodus and the Ten Commandments, all the way through Jesus’ teachings. In fact, it is such a common issue, yet, judging from the number of treatments of the issue, it has not gone away.

            In secular society, materialism is brought to the fore, with advertisements, product placements, jobs, and so many other aspects of our lives being governed by it. Even our relationships with one another are dominated by materialism: what’s the shiniest gift to give to my crush; what’s the best restaurant to take my family to; how can I impress my friends this time? However, even when we walk into our churches, we find the same problem. We have churches closing their doors to the communities of the poor, the sick, and the needy surrounding them. We have committees voting to buy the “newest trends in evangelism” while refusing to serve the person begging at their door. We have church staff members who have paychecks so much larger than the incomes of congregations combined, making me wonder if there is even enough there to support a community in need.

            In addition to the tangible manifestations of materialism, we also have an ideological issue in our churches as well. At the surface, we have people preaching a “prosperity gospel,” where all of God’s blessings are material blessings. Going deeper, we will even ignore what the Bible tells us about materialism. We shy away when Jesus says to get rid of all of our belongings to follow him. We try to reinterpret what Isaiah means when he says if we draw out our souls to the hungry and the afflicted then we will become light. We downright ignore the laws of Moses regarding the harvest, where leaving a bit of our crops for the less fortunate and travelers was mandatory, not just a thing to do if we happen to have a large enough plot of land to sustain a miniscule community garden next to our towering, gothic building. We have tolerated greed and materialism so long that we grow uncomfortable looking at what life would be without it. Going further into this notion of institutionalized materialism in the Church, we have people who start to look at congregations as small businesses. Rather than consider what it means to reach people who need to hear the Gospel, we look at the specific number of people in pews as figures in graphs. We turn down programs that are for spiritual enrichment in favor of events that serve solely to bring income into the church.

            Now, what happens when we look at the world through the lens of materialism? Our place in society becomes a competition. One day we are at the bottom; the next day we are above a few other people; and then a few days later, we are back down again. When we are at the top, we start looking at those who don’t have the same car, the same house, the same job, the same skill, the same talent with contempt and/or shame. We point fingers at them. We fabricate stories about them. They no longer are human. Instead, they are creatures who have failed their duties to God. The artist working for non-profits is blind and silly, unlike our careers in the sciences, which is filled with the culmination of intellectualism and wisdom. They are reaping the wrath of an angry God, and we, at the top, with our precious belongings, are near angelic in our existence. This most certainly is not the life that we are called to as Christians. For, when we propagate this sort of society, we end up hurting ourselves as well. Rather than giving ourselves a community of compassion and love, we turn into a society of ridicule and competition, one where, once we fail, we can no longer exist as functional beings in the world. When we bow down to this idol, when we bring our souls, our talents, our time to its altar, we descend into the darkness. Our vision vanishes, and we are left with a devotion filled with greed and selfishness until we too are consumed by all the negativity, unable to fulfil the necessary offerings needed to continue this cycle.

            Instead, we are called to follow Jesus, to show love to all of those around us. We are called to use our talents to glorify God, to show the world what the unconditional love of God is. We are called to bring the light into the world as it continues its flirts with darkness. We have to look around us and listen to the cries and groans from all of those around us, including our own souls. We have to realize our talents and how they fit into the Kingdom of God. We have to take our treasure and use it to bring others closer to God rather than distance ourselves from God. We have to heal the world around us from all of its wounds.

This Lent calls us to action. Let us follow Jesus; no turning back.

Lent, Day 4: The Journey

"If you remove the yoke from among you,
the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,
if you offer your food to the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
and your gloom be like the noonday."  Isaiah 58:9b-10

We've got a journey ahead of us, the journey of Lent.  It has been going on for a few days, but the first few days are often the hardest for those observing some sort of fast.  But, if you are one who eases your fast on Sunday, then the first break is near!  If not, then keep on truckin'.

Many times, when we look at the Lenten fast, we think about ways that we can improve ourselves.  We look inwards.  We add prayer, we read the Bible, we talk to God, we take on a special diet, among other things.  However, Lent is not only about our own personalities.  It's about how we live with those around us.  None of us are so far removed from the world that we do not interact with someone else (especially if you are reading this blog).  Today's reading brings that point home.  When we start to accuse others of anything, when we judge people of doing something wrong (especially in our eyes), then we start to bring a darkness around our lives.  Rather than spending time with God, we distance ourselves.  Rather than walking in the light, we fall behind, running towards the darkness.  That's not what we want.

Now, the verses above are talking about literal things, but we can read deeper into them.  It's not just the pointing of the finger or the speaking of evil that keeps us in the darkness.  It's the negative thoughts.  It's the jealousy.  It's the anger that boils up inside of you.  Instead, we should be trying to resolve these issues.  One of the easiest ways of dealing with this is by leaving everything to God.  We need to practice loving each other rather than dividing ourselves.  When we listen, when we talk, we can learn more about each other and learn to live in harmony.  It's a way for us not to get too stressed or concerned with those around us.  God will deal with that.

The latter words about giving to the hungry and the needy are also things that we can take more deeply.  Of course, it is always good to volunteer at the food banks and donate to charities.  There are countless ways for us to donate our times.  However, sometimes we will go out of our way to mend relations with people we don't know rather than resolving issues that are around us.  Maybe we don't get along with that one person who used to be our friend.  Maybe a political argument went astray.  Maybe we haven't spoken to someone for a very long time.  These can be the people that are needy as well.  We should take the time during Lent to mend our relationships with those around us.  Lent is not supposed to be easy, but hopefully we will be purified throughout the journey.  Let's pray that we will be ready for our ministry after our fast.

Ash Wednesday: Being Real

"So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward."  Matthew 6:2

 This has to be the most important message of Lent.  Each time I come across this verse, I think about how much this message applies to today.  There are so many people out there that will just say a lot but not actually do things.  Heck, even I do that from time to time.  But, Jesus is very clear in this sermon, which is today's reading for Ash Wednesday.  He gives an example of what authentic worship is after showing what not to do.

Today's message is more than just about our personal relationship with God.  In each one of the admonitions by Jesus, there is the greater public involved.  If you sound a trumpet, you get people's attention.  If you stand on the corners and shout prayers, others will hear you.  If you look dismal, you are seen by others to be that way.  Today, I see these things happening not only out in public, but also in our social media.  I see countless posts, articles, critiques, videos, blogs telling us exactly how to live.  These messages tell others which body type is correct, which church is right, which theory accommodates everybody, which people should be around which people.  Many times, I read these things from people who are not even in situations where they would know what to say.  Bystanders narrate what should happen in schools, even dictating the roles of each staff member.

In the end, by being inauthentic with words, people start to make an echo chamber for their ideas, starting with something plausible, but ending with something that is so convoluted and impossible.  The same thing can happen with our spiritual lives.  When we just talk a lot, when we just do the motions, when we post the #blessed or other tags, we lose ourselves to our words.  Rather than better ourselves, we bog ourselves down with more and more words.

Lent is a time for us to dig out of the mess that we can create around ourselves.  Lent is a time for us to follow Jesus in our real, plain selves.  Jesus did not ask for us to come forward dressed in a wig, spandex, and heels (although I'm sure he'd be fine with that, too).  Jesus just tells us to live authentically.  When we make the good news become our truth, when we put our actions where our words are, when we are real, we will find Jesus.

I hope that everybody has a blessed Lent.

Day 54: God Is Faithful

"No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."  1 Corinthians 10:13

This is one of my top five favorite verses from the bible.  Reading it in context caused the verse to have extra resonance with me.  If you can, I recommend you committing some verses to memory, at least enough so that you can come across it and speak the words before they appear on the page/screen in your reading.

This verse is very powerful because it comes at the end of a summary of the unfaithfulness of many of the Israelites during the period of time covered in the Pentateuch.  Paul even makes it a point to say that it was some of the Israelites who strayed, not all.

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man

This statement can hurt a little, because it makes any situation you're in sound quite diminished.  But that's the point.  We like to bring our troubles to our neighbors, while they have just as many issues to deal with as we do.  However, this statement is also there to help us, because we can then look for how other people dealt with our problems.  We can consult our parents, grandparents, priests, teachers, friends, and so many other people.

But God is faithful

If you're struggling with a specific situation, you need to look no further than the bible.  In 1 Corinthians 10, you can find the different temptations that came about.  But, you can also see that God delivered the entire nation of Israel from destruction time and time again.  Read Exodus to see one story of deliverance.  Read Joshua for yet another story.  Read Kings and Chronicles for so many more stories of deliverance.  And, most definitely, read the gospels, any of the four: Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John.  You'll understand that God has been faithful to us throughout all our troubles and tests.

[God] will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape

Here is our safeguard.  Times are going to get tough, but they will never get impossible.  Even at the point of death, God is there to save our soul, and when our time comes, God is in control.  Our legacy will last as an example for all those who are struggling.  The great thing about living as Christians is that we have one great escape: the church.  We can go and refresh ourselves with prayers we pray or from those of our fellow Christians.  We can talk to many more faithful people to learn about how great God is.

That you may be able to bear it

Here is an important distinction.  It is one thing to have a way out of our problems.  The easiest way out of any problem is just by doing nothing at all.  We can stay in the comfort of our bed all day unto eternity, allowing our bodies to waste away, let away our minds, our dreams, our talents.  But that's not what God wants.  God is sending us out there into the world as sheep against wolves.  God will guide us through all the difficult parts, but it will all be for our personal growth.  This last clause implies that we weren't able to bear our challenges to begin with.  What's the only way to bear a heavy weight?  Get stronger!  God is guiding us through our difficult times so that we can become stronger beings.

During this Lent, let God guide you through your discipline, whether it's giving up sweets, reading more of the bible, saying a prayer every once in a while, or even just to step foot in church just once this season.  God is faithful, and will guide us through all of our trials.

Day 042: Customs

"Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.  Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food.  All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense."  Romans 14:19-20

The history of the Church is quite dismal, to say the very least.  On the one hand, it has spread beyond the borders of the Holy Land to most of the earth; but on the other hand, it has seen so many fractures that we can't keep track of all the different traditions and factions.  There are some that claim to have heritage all the way to the first days of the apostolic church, denouncing all other traditions as simple heresies.  But, in reality, all of our denominations can be traced back to the apostolic church.

Of course, this dispute can be taken to the secular world as well, where we are constantly afraid of those who speak a different language, or those who are a different color, or those who wear different clothes.  But even this secular worldly fear breaks into our churches as well, for such a denial or dismissal of the others is a way that we destroy the work of God.

God is the only one who has constantly been bringing all of creation together.  God called people to join in the family by living holy lives.  God sent Jesus to unite people with a common message of faith and love.  But our taking of the reigns has been our downfall.

So much of the Church's history is riddled with grudges, some held for over a thousand years.  But we are called to turn away from all of that.  We are called to unity.  Unity is something that we can achieve only if we put aside our prejudices and start trying to learn more about and understand the others around us.

During this Lent, we should remember to reach out to the world around us, so that many more can understand our relationship with God.  We also should go out of our way to learn about new traditions.  There are many denominations that observe Lent, and there are some which are observing it starting next month.  There is so much we can learn around us, and that brings up the central point of our faith: that Jesus is revealing himself to us in so many different ways.  If we learn to accept that Jesus is not reserved for just one kind of person, we can learn so much more about Jesus and strengthen our relationship with him.

Day 040: Transformation

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." Romans 12:1-2

This message speaks to me so much for today, for it is about to be Lent.

Lent is a time for us to transform so that we can become a wholesome offering to God.  In the Old Testament, there are so many specifications about how perfect an animal has to be in order to be sacrificed.  Alongside that, we know that Jesus is the most perfect sacrifice to renew all of us.

But we can't get bogged down in all of the customs and traditions of the world.  Although we might like to think that if we purchase the right amount of candles and icons we would be saved, that's not what God wants from us.  We can't let things become stumbling blocks for us.  We need to follow Jesus and allow him to transform us.  We need to make everything in our lives things that will bring us closer to him.  We need to attach ourselves to spiritual things so that we may grow in the best way possible.

And so, as we prepare ourselves for Lent, ridding our surroundings of every temptation and purifying ourselves just before we go in to receive our ashes for Ash Wednesday, let these verses be our prayer, that God may take us and transform us into something that is pleasing and acceptable before God.  When our own desire is for God, then we can start to become more godlike - perfect.