Grace to you from the Mystery in whom we live and breathe and have our being. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.
eddie’s shenanigans
According to Isaiah, God says, “bringing offerings is futile…incense is repugnant. Your burnt rams and beasts, your sabbath, new moons and festivals, convocations, and even your solemn assemblies I can’t endure anymore.”
Aye, Aye, Aye, these are harsh words.
I’m imagining the old tv sitcom Leave it to Beaver. Beaver Cleaver’s older brother Wally Cleaver has a friend named Eddie Haskell. Eddie was always up to manipulating the boys into no good. Wally and the Beav would get into a lot of trouble with Eddie’s shenanigans. But his behavior in front of the parents Ward and June Cleaver was of a complete and utter gentleman. Polite and clean cut. Perfect posture and manners. A smile that would take a plastic surgeon to remove. It was all an act. Good displays of behavior, but a devious heart and rotten motivation.
But there were times when big brother Wally had enough. Enough of Eddie’s kissing up. Enough of Eddie picking on Wally’s little brother Beaver. Tired of his over-the-top compliments. Eddie’s facade had been tolerated by Wally to maintain their friendship. But it could no longer be at the expense of Beaver. Wally let him have it.
I suspect God is like Mr. Cleaver in the book of Isaiah. God is tired of the Eddie Haskell’s in the Temple, in the Churches and at home. Perhaps today God would say he is tired of worship bands, choirs, and praying publicly at IHOP. Bible toting, posting scriptures, reading liturgy, performing the sacraments, and naming mascots after saints, eagles and crusaders.
If there is a desire to reside in the kingdom of God, the requirements are clear. Decorate the home of your heart with treasures that are infinitely life-giving. This is where the horizon of the kingdom of heaven exists. Steer away from temporary possessions derived from preoccupations.
The heart that desires nothing but untethered love and meaning will have no room for hefty diversions. Possessions that occupy the mind and soul. Quenching Spirit and bolting life off from deep connections.
god’s flock
In Isaiah, God cries out to his children to avert judgment, the consequences that come from self-indulgence and religious mockery.
God always sees God’s flock as his children. Dependent on God and interdependent with others. In Luke, Jesus calls his disciples his little flock. But too often our blessings and benefits as God’s children become entitlements.
We are all God’s children and tend to lose the way of Christ. It begins at the heart level when our beliefs and possessions are central to our identity.
In Isaiah, God is fed up with his children performing religiously for their own enrichment. In Luke, Jesus is warning his followers to guard against acting like a church instead of doing the work of a church.
false idols
God is warning Israel and Jesus is warning his disciples of the consequences of false idols. Possessions that can own us. Attachments that become the gods of our daily existence. But it is not the unaware being talked to.
In Luke, the warning is for the disciples to avoid making possessions their idols. Jesus is saying be free of being owned by anything that can be easily taken away or decay. Cherish the things deeply treasured that link our heart with God’s heart.
In Isaiah God is repulsed by things that were once considered signs of intimate devotion and fidelity.
God wants changed lives, not perfected rituals.
Imagine a modern congregation of raised hands in corporate worship and then read these words in Isaiah,
“When you stretch out your hands,
I will hide my eyes from you.
even though you make many prayers,
I will not listen;
your hands are full of blood.”
What then does God want? I don’t think there is any debate here. God says,
“cease to do evil,
learn to do good.
seek justice,
rescue the oppressed,
defend the orphan,
plead for the widow.”
Boom! There it is! A total disregard for societal justice turns God’s face and stomach. We cannot do these things with hearts filled with self-indulgent acts of adulation.
Jesus echoed the prophets of old when he said the “Spirit of the Lord is upon me, …Release to the captives, recover sight to the blind and liberate those who are oppressed.”
core mission
From the Old testament to the New Testament this is at the core of the mission of Jesus.
Perhaps God’s angry, ego wounding words, and the words of Jesus, are attempts to rescue Israel and us from a life of emotional, physical and spiritual enslavement once again.
It makes me curious why these principles aren’t located in the “What We Believe” or “About Us” sections of church websites?
Perhaps churches still struggle with possessions in the form of programs, buildings, Sunday rituals, trips and staffing. Possessions. None are bad until they become God’s Eddie Haskell’s.
If we press into the instructions of these two portions of scripture in Isaiah and Luke, we may find a theme between two kinds of worlds. A world where religious acts are performed to hide selfish ambition and escape judgment, and a world which knows where their true treasure is. Only one world can offer genuine, life-giving connection with God, others and the earth.
reflection
A time to reflect:
What priorities and possessions make a play for your heart’s treasures?
Reflect on the everyday religious world around you. Is there a dissonance or resonance with the real treasures of your heart? What around you nurture and encourage the true desires of your heart? What does not?
Our true self longs for lasting and meaningful relationships with God, others and the earth.
Perhaps it’s time to “sell” off the things that possess us, become attachments and create obstacles to the way of heavens treasures which are in essence, the deepest desires of our heart.
Amen
Wednesday Respite is a 30-min contemplative service of scripture, prayer, music and a Spirited Touchpoint by Henry Rojas, spiritual director at Spirit in the Desert.
Touchpoint is a reflection on where God’s story touches our life story. It is a short homily based on a biblical story of people in the Old and New Testaments and their relationship with God. Our spiritual ancestors’ experience of God’s grace connects with our lives in the present and our relationship with the Divine. Previous Touchpoints are available as PDFs or on SoundCloud.
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