Matthew 6.9-24; Mark 10.21
The freedom of renunciation
The desert as a place of self denial and austerity.
I am scanning the congregation and I am trying to discern - do we have any followers of fashion? Do we have anyone who is bound by materialism - must always have the best and latest in cars, in computers, in phones, in clothing? I am not sure I see anyone that fits that description. Maybe we have a hidden shoe hoarder among us with 30 or more shoes in their closet? When my father was in the Army, I remember meeting a lady who collected porcelain pigs. I think she had over 30 different pigs in her home and in every new posting she would search for more and would love to show them off. I could not see the attraction in them. Last year I watched an illuminating programme on rich people in Dubai and one lady had 80 pairs of shoes and 40 expensive handbags - she could name the price of each handbag - some several thousand pounds. It was sad how material possessions was so important to her - it dominated her life. She was seeking self worth and significance in what she owned.
Jesus warned people that money and possessions can have an allure, an attraction that dominates and replaces God as the most important thing in our lives. They become idols or false gods that people worship, and have a power over us that replaces God’s role and function in our lives and pushes God and other people away so that we lose something of our humanity, we stop seeing the need in others and become submerged by the need to possess. Martin Luther described idols as “whatever your heart clings to and confides in, that is really your god and functional saviour.”
We are in a society in which it is possible to be bombarded by adverts, not just from the television and billboards but also from Facebook, on the internet, emails, text messages. All promising fulfilment - a full life with happiness and 2.4 children. How subtly these adverts work into our psyche, our hearts - influencing our decisions, the choices we make, the lives we lead. They have a power which has roots in our insecurities and desires, feeding us with lies.
Andy Crouch in his book, Playing God, describes how idols promise safety and security in return for their worshippers’ trust. In the beginning they offer excitement and enjoyment but as time goes on, the more they demand the less they give in return. The idol of materialism works in the same way. There can be a rush of excitement to get that new exciting thing you believe will bring you joy and happiness. But this is often short lived before you feel another new thing is needed. Ironically the more you amass, the more you feel you need, and the less happy each purchase makes you. Jesus warns us of the fragility and worthlessness of worldly treasure.
I had a sense the lady with the 30 pigs was not particularly satisfied with life and similarly the lady with the 80 pairs of shoes. Life seemed pretty hollow.
Our second gospel reading is a verse from the story of the rich young man who knelt before Jesus and asked what must he do to inherit eternal life? Jesus went through the Ten Commandments saying the man must keep to them and he replied that he had. Jesus loved him and said,
“You lack one thing, go, sell what you own and give the money to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven, then come, follow me.”
The young man was shocked and went away grieving for he had many possessions. Jesus was offering him treasures in the next life, but he could not let go of the treasures he had here. Yet paradoxically seeking Jesus now also means greater true treasure in this life as well.
The desert fathers and mothers turned away from the cosmopolitan materialistic world they had been bought up in and chose basic lives living simplistically in the desert. Anthony who we heard about in the first week and Syncletica of Alexandria who features in this week’s video, both came from wealthy families, and both, on the early deaths of their parents, sold up, gave everything to the poor and chose an ascetic, harsh life in order to engage with God in deeper prayer. They did not allow the lure of possessions and an easy life to hold them back from their chosen purpose in life - deeper connection with Jesus in prayer.
Thinking for a moment on what they chose to do. Which of your belongings would you struggle to give up most? Car, savings account, house, clothes, television, refrigerator, phone? …Later this year Emma and I will retire and will move to a smaller house. Already we are making decisions on what to take and what not to. Some things are easier to let go of. What I am finding fascinating is that as we let go more and more, the lighter we feel, and the taller we walk. The oughts dissolve - for example that book I have always meant to read but have not yet done so - it is not important- simpler is better becomes real. It is a process.
So is anyone here thinking God is calling them to sell up and become a hermit, dedicated to God? Not appeal? Perhaps you should talk to your spouse first before you follow that path!
That may not be our calling but are there attitudes in us which need addressing this Lent? Are we aware of the cultural narrative and the pull that belongings have on us? Can we turn against the stream of materialism and stand? Last summer, Emma and I canoed down a river together with a group of people. We paused at a sand bank and swam in the warm water. There was quite a current. The further out you swam from the sand bank the stronger the current and some of us competed against the current to see if we could swim against it. I could do it for a short time but not for long and would then be swept down stream. It takes strength, determination and perseverance to resist the stream of materialism. Too many people are so deep in that they are swept along with no control. Jesus warns us that it is better to get out of the stream on to the sandbank and let it pass you by without engaging with it.
So how does this apply to us? Here are some thoughts that may ring true for you.
Is there any stuff, any possessions that get in your way of following Jesus? If yes, then talk to Jesus about it, ask him to set you free.
If you looked back over your shopping history, your social media feed, your recent bank statement, what you have done this month, have you been looking for security, for significance in things?
How would you stand against the stream of materialism or what action do you need to step out of the current? Can you forego that purchase you have been yearning for? Can you limit the number of takeaways, meals out or coffee in town this month? Can you put off buying new clothes till Easter? Can you not make any holiday plans during the rest of Lent? Can you instead spend more time in solitude and silence with Jesus? With God the Father?
Can you make sure that your Sundays are proper sabbath days with no purchases, no work in them? Theologian Walter Brueggemann argues that practising sabbath is an important aspect of our resistance against the idolatry of materialism and consumerism.
“In our contemporary context of the rat race of anxiety, the celebration of Sabbath is an act of both resistance and alternative. It is resistance because it is a visible insistence that our lives are not defined by the production and consumption of commodity goods.”
The Bible tells us that thanksgiving is a great tool in dethroning the god of money. Cultivating a thankful heart does two things:
- It helps us to notice and express how much we already have. Materialism tells us we don’t have enough. Thankfulness reminds us how blessed we really are.
- Thankfulness helps us to develop true joy and happiness in the simple things life offers; nature, food, family. We find that the happiness we deeply desire can actually be found in what we already have.
I finish with a prayer by Walter Brueggemann which is profoundly challenging. You can follow it on your notice sheet.
Prayer by theologian Walter Brueggemann
You are the God who feeds and nourishes. You are the God who assures that we have more than enough, and we do not doubt that you satisfy the desire of every living thing. Even in such an assurance, however, we scramble for more food. After we have filled all our baskets with manna, we seek a surplus - enough education to plan ahead, enough power to protect our supply, enough oil to assure that protection. And in the midst of that comes your word, that we share bread and feed the hungry, even to the least and so to you. We mostly keep our bread for ourselves, our neighbours, and our friends. It does not occur to us often, to feed our enemies, to share your bounty with those who threaten us. We do not often remember to break vicious cycles of hostility by free bread, by free water, by free wine, by free milk. Until we remember that you are the giver of all good gifts, ours to enjoy ours to share. Stir us by your spirit beyond fearful accumulation toward outrageous generosity, that giving bread to others makes for peace, that giving drink to others makes for justice, that giving and sharing opens the world and assures abundance for all. We pray this even as we ponder the gift of your Son whom we ingest as bread and wine, and tasting, find ourselves forgiven and renewed. Feed us till we want no more!
Amen