Dana Allin was with us yesterday, speaking to us about "dry creeks." Elijah prophesies drought for Israel. Then, when he is driven out, he is driven to a place where he is fed by ravens and where he drinks from a riverbed. Israel, full of worship of false gods, will go thirsty. Elijah, hungering for the true God, is fed. As a member of our church put it to me the other day, "it's all about priorities, right?" Yes, it is, my friend. Yes, it is.
Ahab, the bad king of Israel, "was willing to sacrifice a singular devotion to God for the sake of security, money, power, status, prestige, and comfort." Whether its our appearance, our 401ks, our jobs, our food, or our families - we are like Israel, ready to sacrifice a singular devotion to God for the sake of these things. Dana was encouraging his son in his tennis endeavors. But was it about his son? Or was it about himself? "Dad, is this your dream or mine?" Gotcha. Right between the eyes. How easy it is to live our own unfulfilled dreams through the next generation. Are your dreams unfulfilled? Are mine? I think of the Trinity. The Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit exist in perfect love and unity. They see one another. They regard one another. They glorify and magnify one another. They love one another. And if I share in this divine company by grace, if I am a participant in God's life by Christ's cross, why am I so restless and unfulfilled? Why is grace so dissatisfying to me that I must pursue YOLO (you only live once) experiences and novelties to remind myself I'm alive?
Listen to theologian William Cavanaugh on consumerism:
"Consumerism is the remarkable ability to be detached even from those things...to which we are most obviously attached. But the detachment of consumerism is not just the willingness to sell anything. The detachment of consumerism is also a detachment from the things we buy. Our relationships with products tend to be short-lived: rather than hoarding treasured objects, consumers are characterized by a constant dissatisfaction with material goods. This dissatisfaction is what produces the restless pursuit of satisfaction in the form of something new. Consumerism is not so much about having more as it is about having something else; that's why it is not simply buying but shopping that is the heart of consumerism. Buying brings a temporary halt to the restlessness that typifies consumerism. This restlessness - the moving on to shopping for something else, no matter what one has just purchased - sets the spiritual tone for consumerism." (Cavanaugh, Being Consumed: Economics and Christian Desire, 35)
When Dana asked us "Are our works so different that the world takes notice?", I am inclined for my own part to shake my head and say "no." But if I lived the way Dana Allin talks about, and the way William Cavanaugh talks about, I would not be swallowed up in restlessness, but would trust that God has a great claim on my life, and every person I come across, and every thing I come across I am free to receive as a gift. Every one of us has lost the world and everything in it through our sin and death. Through Christ, we gain it all back.
I don't like the phrase 'church-shopping.' Now, I'm a pastor, so you'd think I'd like it if people were shopping for my church. But I confess I don't even like it then. Because as Cavanaugh sees, so much of our shopping is a type of restlessness which buying only satisfies for a brief while before we're shopping again. We don't buy churches. But we're told in the New Testament that Jesus purchased a people for himself with his blood, with his life. (Galatians 3:13, 1 Peter 1:19) Jesus buys a church, and he doesn't get tired of it and throw it away so he can go shopping for another one. As the assurance of pardon puts it, he died for us, rose for us, reigns in power for us, and even prays for us. He practices a sustained attention to us so that we will become like him in this way.
So Dana, when you arrived at midnight west coast time last night, I hope that despite your physical tiredness, that your spirit was strong, and that your love for the unchurched in Santa Barbara has grown stronger from being with us. And I pray that we'll see that in Christ, we have all the strength we need to live out our fourth word - 'serve' - and love our neighbors this week. Thanks again for being with us!
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