Friendship, Faith & Conversations about Culture
Saturday, August 18, 2007
My friend Sally and her kids came to Minnesota for a rompous 36 hours this week! We hit the beach (probably the last time we'll go this summer--which was a bit sad) and played backyard baseball. . . Millers vs. Muellers. (Can you guess who won?) As usual Sally was loaded up with gifts for the gang. The kids each received bright-colored bags with rocket balloons, fingerprint-stamping fun, and punching balloons. My gift included butterfly paraphanalia, including notepads, magnets, and a t-shirt. I've never seen anything quite like this shirt. It has a monarch caterpillar on the front in the shape of a question mark; the "dot" of the question mark is a chrysallis; on the back of the shirt is a monarch butterfly in all it's glory. LOVE IT! Such a fun shirt, and so meaningful to me.
Sal and I stayed up way TOO LATE, both nights, trying to pack in the stories and questions and ponderings of our lives that are usually shared by phone.
One of our popular topics as of late has been on money and faith and culture. Crashed out on the couch after the kids went to bed, we shared crackers and cheese and a bottle of Riesling, as I blabbed on and on and on about how much Velvet Elvis (Rob Bell's book) has been such a lift, so stimulating. Insights into the culture of Jesus' time open my eyes and heart to the layers of truth found in scripture, and I am challenged in new ways.
For example. . . . I read Sally a section specifically on "culture." It talks about culture during the time when Jesus lived, died, and rose again. The world was ruled by the Roman Empire which was led by a succession of caesars. These caesars claimed they were sent by the gods to renew creation. Bell explains:
"Caesar Augustus believed that as the son of god, he was god incarnate on earth, the prince of peace who had come to restore all of creation. He inaugurated a twelve-day celebration called Advent to celebrate his birth. Sound familiar? His priests offered sacrifices and incense to rid people of their guilt. One of the popular slogans was 'There is no other name under heaven by which men can be saved than that of Caesar.' Another phrase they used often was 'Caesar is Lord.' Throughout the Roman Empire, the caesars called on people to worship them as the divine saviors of humankind, and a city that acknowledged Caesar as Lord was called an ekklesia." (p.162)
So, after Jesus' death and resurrection --when his followers began to expand, grow, multiply in this remote corner of the empire--and they adopted the slogan "Jesus is Lord," imagine the social and political implications! Bell continues, "These first Christians were subverting the entire order of the empire, claiming that there was a Lord, and he wasn't Caesar. And what did they call their gatherings? Ekklesias. A word that translates in English as "church". Another of their favorite slogans was 'There is not other name given under heaven by which we must be saved than that of Jesus.' Shocking. They took political propaganda from the empire and changed the words to make it about their Lord. To join up with these people was to risk your life. And not only this, but they made claims about the whole way society was structured."
Bell's help with some of this cultural background makes my heart feel like a butterfly ready to take flight. Especially because I've given so much thought lately to modern culture, money, comparing it to the community of followers described in Acts. The believers gathering after Christ's resurrection were not only "subverting the dominant power structures of their world" (p. 163) but they were living God's dream in practical, life-giving ways. Luke -- the biblical writer of Acts -- says "And God's grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy person among them." (Acts 4:34)
Isn't that amazing? "No needy persons among them."
Sally and I like to toss around questions like: "Why in modern times do we still have people who are starving?" "Are we a people addicted to money?" "What will it take for us to relinquish a false sense of security in our lives?" "Does everyone think they are struggling, or just making it--whether there is truth in it or not?" "What will it take for us not to worry about money as Jesus commands in Matthew 6:25?" "Is it right for us to be so obssessed with 'retirement' and our 'futures' when our own neighbors struggle to get through one day?"
I confess fears that my ideas and values are being forged in the fires of financial struggle (kind of like a sober alcoholic). Given a day when we can "drink" from the wells of "excess" again, will we do so without turning numb to world and it's need? Sally confesses her own fears related to money, and we talk about ways to be creative, generous, life-giving women of faith. In so many ways, including financially, we are so, so, so RICH. How can we bless others with the resources we've been given? How can we serve God in our lives, uncontrolled by money?
"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." Matthew 6:24
As the Miller clan climbed back into their mini-van for a return trip to Illinois, Sally said, "Maybe for our next visit we can start a new Miller/Mueller tradition. . .serving at a soup kitchen, or helping someone in need." I love the idea. I'd also love to find ways of reaching out every day so that someday we, like the very first Christians, might have "no needy persons among" us.
Sal and I stayed up way TOO LATE, both nights, trying to pack in the stories and questions and ponderings of our lives that are usually shared by phone.
One of our popular topics as of late has been on money and faith and culture. Crashed out on the couch after the kids went to bed, we shared crackers and cheese and a bottle of Riesling, as I blabbed on and on and on about how much Velvet Elvis (Rob Bell's book) has been such a lift, so stimulating. Insights into the culture of Jesus' time open my eyes and heart to the layers of truth found in scripture, and I am challenged in new ways.
For example. . . . I read Sally a section specifically on "culture." It talks about culture during the time when Jesus lived, died, and rose again. The world was ruled by the Roman Empire which was led by a succession of caesars. These caesars claimed they were sent by the gods to renew creation. Bell explains:
"Caesar Augustus believed that as the son of god, he was god incarnate on earth, the prince of peace who had come to restore all of creation. He inaugurated a twelve-day celebration called Advent to celebrate his birth. Sound familiar? His priests offered sacrifices and incense to rid people of their guilt. One of the popular slogans was 'There is no other name under heaven by which men can be saved than that of Caesar.' Another phrase they used often was 'Caesar is Lord.' Throughout the Roman Empire, the caesars called on people to worship them as the divine saviors of humankind, and a city that acknowledged Caesar as Lord was called an ekklesia." (p.162)
So, after Jesus' death and resurrection --when his followers began to expand, grow, multiply in this remote corner of the empire--and they adopted the slogan "Jesus is Lord," imagine the social and political implications! Bell continues, "These first Christians were subverting the entire order of the empire, claiming that there was a Lord, and he wasn't Caesar. And what did they call their gatherings? Ekklesias. A word that translates in English as "church". Another of their favorite slogans was 'There is not other name given under heaven by which we must be saved than that of Jesus.' Shocking. They took political propaganda from the empire and changed the words to make it about their Lord. To join up with these people was to risk your life. And not only this, but they made claims about the whole way society was structured."
Bell's help with some of this cultural background makes my heart feel like a butterfly ready to take flight. Especially because I've given so much thought lately to modern culture, money, comparing it to the community of followers described in Acts. The believers gathering after Christ's resurrection were not only "subverting the dominant power structures of their world" (p. 163) but they were living God's dream in practical, life-giving ways. Luke -- the biblical writer of Acts -- says "And God's grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy person among them." (Acts 4:34)
Isn't that amazing? "No needy persons among them."
Sally and I like to toss around questions like: "Why in modern times do we still have people who are starving?" "Are we a people addicted to money?" "What will it take for us to relinquish a false sense of security in our lives?" "Does everyone think they are struggling, or just making it--whether there is truth in it or not?" "What will it take for us not to worry about money as Jesus commands in Matthew 6:25?" "Is it right for us to be so obssessed with 'retirement' and our 'futures' when our own neighbors struggle to get through one day?"
I confess fears that my ideas and values are being forged in the fires of financial struggle (kind of like a sober alcoholic). Given a day when we can "drink" from the wells of "excess" again, will we do so without turning numb to world and it's need? Sally confesses her own fears related to money, and we talk about ways to be creative, generous, life-giving women of faith. In so many ways, including financially, we are so, so, so RICH. How can we bless others with the resources we've been given? How can we serve God in our lives, uncontrolled by money?
"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." Matthew 6:24
As the Miller clan climbed back into their mini-van for a return trip to Illinois, Sally said, "Maybe for our next visit we can start a new Miller/Mueller tradition. . .serving at a soup kitchen, or helping someone in need." I love the idea. I'd also love to find ways of reaching out every day so that someday we, like the very first Christians, might have "no needy persons among" us.
