The Shadow-gloom and Weight of the Sacred

Sunday night at church a guy from Wishing Well came and spoke. He also showed a documentary video; you can watch the trailer by clicking here. My parents' church--where we've been going for the last couple of months--has made a few different donations to Wishing Well, which is kind of cool because the return isn't necessarily "souls won." It's just an attempt to be a blessing to God's creation, an attempt to participate in the redemption of His creation.

After the presentation, the minister, Clyde H., attempted to address the assembly, but he was too overcome by emotion--at least at first. Then he quoted Jesus, "It is more blessed to give than receive." BAM! I was hit by those words like a freight train full of bricks collapsing on my chest. The result of the collision hurt. It hurt bad.

I've made so many excuses to deny this statement: It is more blessed to give than receive. With my life, I've tried to prove this statement false, to make Him a liar. I'm not exactly sure why it hit me Sunday night (context, I'm sure), but it hit me. We Christians in the U.S. have this collection of clever, almost strategic, prayers that allow us to acknowledge what we've received while ignoring what Jesus claims makes a person more greatly blessed. We do pray thankfulness, essentially, that we're not like other countries. Man, based on some prayers I've heard, many Christians still think the Soviet Union is extant. We're thankful we're not like the Soviets, the Iraqis, the African nations, Mexico. We're thankful we're not like Europe because they're so agnostic, atheistic, postmodern.

We really know how to express our gratitude, but I think it often serves a purpose. I don't think the gratitude is insincere, but I think the way we shape our gratitude may conveniently protect us from the giving lessons of Jesus' ministry. The Pharisee prayed thankfulness that he wasn't like the sinners around him and this prayer protected him from acknowledging that there were sinners right in front of him! It protected him from reaching out to the world at his very fingertips and giving. Our prayers of thankfulness for our riches serve a similar purpose.

As long as we give gratitude some kind of lip service, then it's ok NOT to give. Sometimes we feel guilty for what we've received. Why us? Why America? Why was I born into the U.S. rather than Africa? Or, perhaps, why was I born white in the U.S. instead of African American in the U.S? But, as long as we marvel at our good fortune, we can walk away accepting that it is, in fact, more blessed to receive than to give.

I'm really not being cynical. I am a shamelessly religious person. I believe in the church. However, as I grow older, I am beginning to understand how our religion protects us, encouraging us to maintain the status quo, to place worldly limits on our giving. Our religion, I think, protects us from the costs of what James calls true religion.


more blessed to...