Generosity and Inequity

Do not be hard-hearted or tightfisted toward your needy neighbor (Deuteronomy 15:7b).

Several years ago my wife and I entered the shop of our neighborhood vacuum cleaner dealer/repair shop. After the cheery greetings we presented him with our latest project which needed a bit of his expertise. It was a well dated machine which had received some abuse; children of our church's Syrian refugee family trying to 'help around the house.' He responded with no hesitation. “I fix it for free.” His response to our grateful surprise was like this. “Oh I must do it. This is time to give Zakat [alms], and I do it if I want to enter heaven.” His cheerful friendly smile clearly confirmed his intentions. Hmm, this was just a bit more than what we had been thinking at that particular moment. Needless to say, we accepted his charity and it is now a part of our ongoing neighborly relationship with him. My fascination with this continuing friendship is that it seems to include an understanding that charity works best if we work at it together. There's a satisfaction in supporting this local businessman.

This last Sunday we had a Sunday School lesson in our church entitled, “Keeping Up with God’s Generosity.” It is based on the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, including the famous catchphrase quoted almost universally, “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7b). I cannot but think of the truthfulness of this lesson, nicely perched at the end of a series “Disciples and Stewards” (MennoMedia.org/SL). I especially appreciate this series coming along after that nice experience with our Muslim neighbor. The very good title gives pause for thinking way way way beyond some thoughts we might have about how much of our hard-earned salaries and pension benefits should we be giving to church these days! Stewardship is a subject no longer contained within the narrow confines of me and my little budget. It is about me in all the world which I am a part of and which is all around me. Yes, all the world!

Both the Qur'an and the Bible’s Old Testament teach the importance of the ‘collection’ or gathering of funds for the needy, not as an occasion of patronage, but of tithing. Patronage was the Greco-Roman way; it maintained the power and prestige of the patron through giving of gifts, granting prestige (nowadays often advertised as sponsors) to the patron and of course material assistance to the needy one. Tithing, on other hand, was more a matter of redistribution of that which belongs to Allah – to God. Within Islam it is mandatory, the third pillar of their faith requirements (obviously why our Muslim friend put it his way). Within Christianity it is not exactly a legalism, but in fact a moral responsibility of anyone who claims to be a follower of Jesus the Christ. I love the way it’s put in the Bible, “ ¹³Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. ¹⁴ At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, ¹⁵ as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little” (2 Cor.8:13-15). Stewardship, almsgiving, tithing, potlatches, whatever we may call it in different faith traditions, in my mind is best understood as a sharing or redistribution of wealth, rather than merely helping the poor. As a Christian of the socialist persuasion I find this to be a consistent way of life for people of faith. See also Acts 2:44-45.

The topic of stewardship, although well endowed with many points of view and political persuasions and denominational variations including professional consultants, may not be quite as daunting as often appears. The included subjects of charities and generosity, of socioeconomic realities and humanitarianism become considerably easier if taken from the vantage of God being the owner. It all belongs to our Creator God and it most certainly is not a matter of us Christians being the fixer-uppers. It's a matter of participating with all of God's creation including the Indigenous peoples. Koodos to many Christian churches who have begun the practice of beginning worship services with a land acknowledgment. 

During these last two years it has been my privilege to participate as an Interfaith representative in our Calgary Interfaith Council. While the tasks and challenges of an interfaith organization may seem monumental and facilitated by very skilled and educated persons, I also note that the stress level there seems less than within administration and leadership responsibilities of my Christian denomination, and those perhaps even less than the details and constraints within local congregations. Speaking to representatives from within other faith communities, lo and behold, that apparently also true there! Strange camaraderie and information often gained when hobnobbing with others! The devil is in the details, so I once heard. Also among Christians is a similar saying, "It's hardest to show Jesus' love to those who are closest." [One little proviso here which can be understood as an exception or confirmation of the above. A recent 'neighborly' Interfaith project included collecting and sharing fast food "Gift Cards" with the homeless. This well-intentioned 'collect' yielded many gift cards and they are oh-so convenient for both the giver and the receiver! This can become kind of a mechanical encounter 'with the least of these' (hello, thank you, good-bye), or it may provide excellent occasional opportunities to hear the story of others within our communities. See one of my last year's blogs, "Hey What's Your Name," April 15, 2021]

Oft-times the things which seem most overwhelming from local perspective (like how are we going to make budget in this post-corona season? or how get people to serve on committees? etc.) actually are probably less daunting if looked at from farther out. In other words it's a good idea to ask the occasional question, what is it we're stressing about? 😏 So on stewardship topic, why not look at it as God's generosity, ever present, in season and out of season, and yes available to all and that means all faith communities. 

From this larger vantage I see the tithes and offerings that I contribute in my local church as a part of my relationship with the neighbor next door, whom I know to also be within God's creation. That in turn provides opportunity to be recipient of the neighbors' charity to me, which in turn contributes to our learnings of a great big wonderful God, possibly even sharing in the experience of our God. Within God’s world we are privileged to be givers and receivers.

In the beginning God…(Genesis 1:1) …and… I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End (Revelation 22:13).

 

Through those Doors

The season of Easter seems to have come and gone rather quickly this year. No, I refer not to ongoing wintry weather or Easter basket hunts slightly awry. I refer to my ‘faith addiction.’ In my experience – and therefore by deep conviction - Easter is the climax or centrum of the church year, and it is an occasion I am reluctant to let go  of. At any rate, I am relieved, and even inspired to have receive some further Easter resurrection teaching this last Sunday, a full week after Easter! 

Easter Sunday the Gospel reading (John 20:1-18) was about Jesus’ appearance to Mary Magdalene, who immediately recognized him as Rabonni, “Teacher,” and hastens to go tell the others, those disciples hiding away trying to make sense of the horrible ending to their three-year apprenticeship following this life-changing inspiring still confusing rabbi. Now this 2nd Easter was the latter half of that same gospel chapter (20:19-31). Those very disciples squirreled away in a nearby room, suddenly Jesus standing among them, “Peace be with you!” (:19). This twofold descript of Jesus appearing to the women and to the disciples cannot be ignored. 

First off, it is women who receive the first look. Why? Because they were tending to what needs doing; the spices, the burial rites. No matter the horrible indignity committed against teacher, against friend, against son, their grief put them front and center. Not only were the women present at the crucifixion (eg John 19:25), but also on hand as first witnesses. Not only in John but the other gospels, it is Mary mother, Mary wife of Clopas, Mary Magdalene, Mary mother of James, Joanna wife of Herod’s household manager (yes!), and Salome wife of Zebedee, these women are there. 

Who are the persons providing good pastoral leadership in today’s churches? It is women. Although sometimes stated as an evidence of shortage of preachers, the significance of women in leadership roles is palpable, definitely more than supply and demand. It is God providing the ministry needed. My seminary years were in the season of introduction to ‘women's lib,’ forefront of a new awareness, many of them angry academics providing new challenge for administrators and of course still resisted in churches. By now, fifty years later, women leaders are not the angry ones. 

No, quite the opposite. Many are providing the quality pastoral care – considerable relief from the ego consciousness of the male persona. Needless to say, not all male clergy are position anxious, and neither are all females the warm nurturers. There is the anima and the animus, masculine and feminine energies of varying degree in both male and female persons, so says Carl Jung (1875-1961), a famous psychiatrist who established analytical psychology. My intent here is not to pretend my way into the field of 'shrinks,' but I touch on it here only to emphasize the very significant fact of women the first ones to encounter the resurrected Jesus!

Secondly, this matter of men in hiding. 😓 These fellows, overwhelmed with the things just happened, desperately trying to make sense of it all, and of course 'afraid of the Jews' suddenly have Jesus standing among them, "Peace be with you" (:20). There is no "Aha I told you so," no gloating, no censure or scolding for their sleepiness in Gethsemane, or those siblings James and his younger brother John jockeying for position, or Peter’s recent hypocrisy in the high priest's courtyard pretending he did not know Jesus, for their shameful fearfulness, their running away. Jesus breathes on them (:22) and they are enabled to do that which they had said they would do. Even Thomas who was absent at the first reveal, after he gets the full satisfaction of touching the nail holes, receives the full assignment just like the others. These were the wimps; they receive the challenge. Go!  

All of us uniquely created, there are differing ways of spiritual encounter. The resurrection of Jesus, as described in the scriptures is a most convincing display of God having come among us and absolutely equally available for all. If in doubt, read John 20 again! The feminine way (anima), not exclusively the way of women, and the masculine way (animus) certainly not the exclusive ticket of menfolk. Myself apparently wired with some anima energy, I find Apologetics or Systematic Theology - the discipline of explaining how God gets things done - quite boring. 😏 Of greater interest to me is the appearance and the presence of the resurrected Jesus (Yes, walking in through closed doors in his peaceful demeanor). So, without going into the politics and opinions of gender ministry, I conclude simply with the following.

Christian ministry cannot happen without encounter with the risen Christ Jesus, this also well illustrated in a recent devotional which I read (Rejoice: Vol 57, No.3, MennoMedia). Peter one of those earlier scared disciples now the apostle Peter is involved in ministry that is resurrection driven - he himself now an on-scene participant, Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up (Acts 9:40). Resurrection living seems kind of optional in some church circles these days. In the effort to give credence to demographic realities or 'do good publicity' we read catchphrases like "Remembering Re-Membering," "The Hour has Come," "Encountering, Embracing, Embodying Christ in life, in community, in the world." etc. etc. These words are excellent articulations for growth plans, conferences and gatherings, based on meetings and consultation with specialists and event planners. Unfortunately words are only words, unless there is significant experience (or re-experience) with that risen Lord Jesus who may be appearing in surprising places just outside the meeting rooms or the church sanctuaries. 

This encounter with the risen Jesus excludes no one, not doubting Thomas, fast running John, impulsive Peter, wrong profession Matthew, Mary Magdalene, fussing mother nor loving mother. If the leaders, the assigned ones, remain huddled behind closed doors, diligently seeking new strategies and new ideas, they may not notice the risen One standing among them. Perhaps the risen One has already appeared among new immigrants, among strange new neighbors, among young people or perhaps the very old, or the indigenous who already know the Creator. 

More important than success or rank or employment in the church of the future is new life in Jesus,“I am the way and the truth and the life." (John 14:6) And more important than whether it's men or women preaching the sermons is the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. He promised it before he died, "the Advocate, the Holy Spirit ... will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." (John 14:26) Jesus continues to come through doors.

“Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you. And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:21-22)

 

Using the Church

“On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” (Matthew 16:18)

My blog posts of the last several years have been stridently written. It is a self-declared freedom which I continue to enjoy – and which friends and acquaintances either endure or genuinely affirm. I write regularly reminding myself that blogging is not a creative writing fest or a popularity contest nor written for book publishers. It is me from my homey vantage which was there when I preached sermons and will likely continue till the day that I die. Within that freedom on many occasions I have distinguished between faith and church, arguing repeatedly that genuine faith is not coterminous with church, citing repeated illustrations from truck drivers or varying profane settings which illustrated profound faith in contrast to some church situations that would illustrate anything but faith (eg "Where Have all the Churches Gone" July 28, 2021 and “Sacred and the Profane" December 16, 2020). These and other articles were bravely worded and possibly a bit overstated, but interestingly have yielded large numbers of hits and affirmations.

I attended a funeral a few days ago which is giving me considerable cause for further thought on topic of faith and churches. It was the funeral for a young South Sudanese man, shot dead by Calgary Police on February 19 last. Funeral Mass was at Holy Trinity Catholic Church. I sat in the assembly just back of reserved seating for family members along with hundreds of others at this liturgy offered by a young priest and an elder assistant along with music and soloist probably provided by parish or funeral home. It was a service which appeared standard, kind of generic, and became increasingly meaningful to me kneeling and rising as per screened instructions along with family, relatives and row upon row of African friends.

What struck me was the twofold reality played out right before my ears and eyes. It was both a service of the church and a service of the people. Not too long into service there was a disturbance off to one side near back of the assembly. A distraught woman was protesting many things, hard to understand her complaints, but causing some disturbance around her. As the troubles became more pronounced a large black man from opposite side of congregation walked calmly over to her and obviously provided some solace not only for her but everybody else in the building! The atmosphere kind of settled – still some protestations but subdued during reading of the Word and the homily. Then it resumed, even louder; this time several others joined in trying to help –  problem solving scene growing as per need. The service never faltered. The lamentations never quite ended, waves of emotion or sorrowful protest in varying intensity throughout Eucharist including the prayers of penitence, absolution, and even the censers of incense smoke. Something about this conjoined atmosphere became holy to me, even moreso as this woman came to the front and joined in with family at tribute to the deceased – her troubled grieving also part of the sharing and wiping of tears. There was minimal attention to her bothersome manner, yet full attention to her troubled spirit.

The celebrant priest did not participate in any of this extra drama. My impression was that it may have been a surprise to him too, and he accommodated it very well, perhaps aware this is what this community might do on this occasion. Nobody called into question any of the prayers or liturgy while the people grieved. After closing benediction and congregation beginning to exit following the casket a strong confident voice sang what was kind of an intonation, and then like crashing breakers, the whole church erupted in song, everybody at full volume, unabashed beautiful funeral dirge, powerful, tearful. I knew not the words, but I knew I was part of a huge mass choir. Thoughts of the heavenly worship in Revelation 5 came to mind.

There is inspiration in this service of space and liturgy offered by the Catholic Church. With minimal words of welcome or commentary about the deceased, especially the emotional circumstance of his death, it was a service of prayers to usher this brother into presence of almighty God, forgiving sins and commending to his eternal home, providing opportunity for those who desired to also taste of the living bread (There were only about a dozen who took communion on this occasion). In hindsight I recognize now that the liturgy and the disturbance were both essential to make this a genuine holy occasion, fully reinforced in the sharing time from the pulpit which followed. Here a daughter of the deceased shared tearfully her love for her dad, and also conviction that he should not have died just yet, with others wiping her tears while she spoke, including the distraught lady who had made all the noise earlier! In my mind this is what embodied the service which then perfectly climaxed with the recessional hymn led by the mystery cantor. Beyond a doubt at this funeral mass I knew myself to have been in the presence of God.

The Church. I have always equated it to the faith community of those who have made adult decision to become followers of Jesus Christ. In the last while I have become somewhat critical of today's churches seemingly more attentive to institution or building maintenance than spiritual ministry. Needless to say this gathering of black mourners so well accommodated by the world’s largest liturgical church leaves an impression on me. Seems to me I saw demonstration of being church, rather than many these days still trying to do church. 

This is the church which has been found wanting by evangelicals because of minimal requirement of personal faith commitment, found wanting in recent years because of clergy misconduct and recent further discovery of residential school horrors like burial of unnamed children on church property. This also is the church at present time with new  attention to evangelism, youth education and pastoral care as well as stepping up to the plate to confront environmental and sociopolitical developments in the ‘world’s lungs,’ namely the South American rainforests (see Beloved Amazonia, Pope Francis, Orbis Books, 2020).

So, perhaps a bit of corrective is in order here. I still maintain personal faith is more important than institutional form and liturgy. It appears, however, that a repentant church which allows itself the avenue of selfless service, as demonstrated at this funeral, is a good testimony and invitation to personal faith. The Protestant mode operandi of pulpit ‘rightly dividing the word of truth’ no longer has the lustre it had, especially when the pulpiteers themselves fall victim to the very sins they are apparently proclaiming us out of. Seems to me therefore that churches whether Catholic or Protestant or in-between who by their very being allow themselves to be used for the benefit of all; they are the ones who will hear "Well done, good and faithful servant(s)!" (Matthew 25:23)