Thoughts From the Porch: A gorgeous Fall day greeted me this
morning as I stepped out on the porch. Every day is gorgeous in my mind, but
this morning was especially bright and inviting. My “porch time” has included an
email series I’ve been receiving from the Center for Action and Contemplation.
I’ve always appreciated Father Richard Rohr and I hope you will appreciate
today’s meditation as well.
Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation
From the Center for Action and Contemplation
Week Forty-eight
Economy:
Old and New
The Gospel Economy
Sunday, November 24, 2019
Jesus said to the host who had
invited him, “When you hold a lunch or dinner . . . invite the poor, the
crippled, the lame, the blind; and blessed indeed will you be because of their
inability to repay you.” —Luke
14:12-14
I’d like to begin this week’s meditations
by contrasting two economies or worldviews. The first economy is capitalism,
which is based on quid pro quo, reward and punishment thinking, and a
retributive notion of justice. This much service or this much product requires
this much payment or this much reward. It soon becomes the entire (and I do mean entire!) frame for
all of life, our fundamental relationships (even marriage and children), basic
self-image (“I deserve; you owe me; or I will be good and generous if it helps
me, too”), and a faulty foundation for our relationship with God.
We’ve got to admit, this system of
exchange seems reasonable to almost everybody today. And if we’re honest, it
makes sense to us, too. It just seems fair. The only trouble is, Jesus doesn’t
believe it at all, and he’s supposed to be our spiritual teacher. This might
just be at the heart of what we mean by real conversion to the Gospel
worldview, although few seem to have recognized this.
Let’s contrast this “meritocracy,”
punishment/reward economy—basic capitalism which we in the United States all
drink in with our mother’s milk—with what Jesus presents, which I’m going to
call a gift economy. [1] In a gift economy, there is
no equivalence between what we give and how much we get. Now I know we’re all
squirming. We don’t like it, because we feel we’ve worked hard to get to our
wonderful middle-class positions or wherever we are. We feel we have rights.
I admit that this position
satisfies the logical mind. At the same time, if we call ourselves Christians,
we have to deal with the actual Gospel. Now the only way we can do the great
turnaround and understand this is if we’ve lived through at least one
experience of being
given to without earning.
It’s called forgiveness, unconditional love, and mercy. If we’ve never
experienced unearned, undeserved love, we will stay in the capitalist worldview
where 2 + 2 = 4. I put in my 2, I get my 2 back. But we still remain very
unsure, if not angry, about any free health care (physical, mental, or
spiritual) or even free education, even though these benefits can be seen as
natural human rights that support and sustain peoples’ humanity. All too often,
we only want people like us to get free health care and education and bail outs.
Brothers and sisters, you and I
don’t “deserve” anything, anything. It’s all a gift. But until we begin to live
in the kingdom of God instead of the kingdoms of this world, we think, as most
Christians do, exactly like the world. We like the world of seemingly logical
equations. Basically, to understand the Gospel in its purity and in its
transformative power, we
have to stop counting, measuring, and weighing. We have to stop saying “I deserve” and deciding who does not deserve.
None of us “deserve”! Can we do that? It’s pretty hard . . . unless we’ve experienced
infinite mercy and realize that it’s
all a gift.
Gateway to Presence: If you want to go deeper with today’s
meditation, take note of what word or phrase stands out to you. Come back
to that word or phrase throughout the day, being present to its impact and
invitation.
[1] “A gift economy, gift culture, or gift exchange is a mode of
exchange where valuables are not traded or sold, but rather given without an
explicit agreement for immediate or future rewards. This contrasts with a
barter economy or a market economy, where goods and services are primarily
exchanged for value received. Social norms and customs govern gift exchange.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gift_economy)
“Jesus wasn’t executed because he went around healing people; he was crucified as the worst kind of criminal because his Gospel message was viewed as dangerous by the ruling class. In fact, the entire Gospel of Luke is one long lesson in speaking truth to power—to the corrupt elite in Jerusalem. If we Christians claim to have anything to do with Jesus, then we must inherently be engaged with the political issues of our time.” – Peter Armstrong
Photo by Markus Spiske temporausch.com on Pexels.com
Do you ever get brain worms? You know, those pesky little
musical ditties that play over and over in your head. No matter what you’re
doing the song or musical rift won’t go away. In fact, the more you try to
think of something else the more persistent the song becomes. Sometimes they’re
simply the last song you hear on the radio and other times it comes out of
nowhere. Sometimes they come from the most unlikely sources.
Let me explain…
After an early freeze it’s been a string of beautiful Fall
days here in North Texas. The sun was bright, trees have turned to true Fall
colors, and the birds celebrate the morning in song. The coffee was fuller in
flavor and I relished in the November morning in shorts and a t-shirt. Truly a
blessed morning…
I was reading about Jesus’ first recorded miracle at a
marriage feast in Cana: turning the water into wine. About halfway through I started
humming a Kevin Fowler song, “The Lord Loves a Drinking Man”. Honestly,
it isn’t the most spiritual thing to pop up during my prayer and meditation
time. Click on the link and you’ll see what I mean.
Jesus turned the water to wine and “any man who can do
that is a good friend of mine”. Yep…
Changing Water into Wine
John’s retelling of the miracle at Cana offers a brief
glimpse into his kingdom. He says time and time again the kingdom of God is
like a wedding feast and the Jews in Palestine knew how to throw a wedding
feast. Family and friends came together from all over the region. The finest
food was prepared, and the best wine was brought out first. The party was going
to go on for a while so serve the best wine first and “after the guests have
had their fill bring in the cheap stuff.” John 2.10 (The Message).
It was a big deal. Scholars say their wedding parties lasted
for days. I got a taste of this when I was a groomsman in an Irish Catholic
wedding. The reception was in the Coors Brewery Workers Union Hall if that offers
you a clue. They prefer Irish whiskey to wine and that’s probably a story for another
time, but I digress…
I’d like to think that God’s kingdom is a big celebration. The idea of sitting around singing angelic hymns for eternity sounds a bit boring. God’s kingdom is one of love, joy, and a heck-u-va party. I can’t think of anything better to celebrate.
Wine into Water
Ironically, for people like me Jesus seemed to have worked His
miracle in reverse. He changed the wine into water. For me this is the most
amazing miracle of all. Trapped in a swirling whirlpool of cheap wine (among
other things) and total self-obsession, He lifted me to a life I never dreamed
possible. He invited me into the feast (an analogy He uses often). I know
longer settle for scraps of life. I have a seat at Abba’s table: and what a
party it is.
I can only imagine that if this party is so good now, then
how much more so will the big feast be?
I’m unbelievably thrilled and amazed at just how much He loved this drinking (among other things!) man. I’m happy His miracles aren’t contingent on my false piety and spiritual correctness; that His love is unconditional. He always works the right miracle whether it’s wine into water, or water into wine. Whatever you’re drinking, come on in and join the feast…
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