And
in this Trinity none is afore or after another; none is greater or
less than another. But the whole three persons are coeternal, and
coequal. -Athanasian Creed
God
is Love. -1 John 4:8, Bible
He
has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the
lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich
away empty.
-Luke 1:52-53, The Mother Of Christ
In
the beginning was the logos... The world came into being through him,
but the world did not know him... John 1
When
I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why they
are poor, they call me a communist. -Dom Hélder Pessoa
Câmara
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| http://www.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2012/06/extra_credit_10_more_disturbin.php |
I don't recall much of it,
but I do remember one of the "reasons" given.
It feels good to give,” the pastor encouraged us, toward the end of the sermon. (I was a visitor).
“If you don't believe me, try it!”
Try
it.
Try giving! You'll see!!!
You'll...
see...
Well,
I've tried it.
And
here's what I've found.
Sometimes
it feels Good. Sometimes it Doesn't.
And,
although God may “love” a “cheerful giver,” I don't think
that that pastor was right.
To
be clearer: I think he was absolutely wrong.
In
the world as it is, we shouldn't give because it feels good or bad.
We should give because it's the right thing to do—when and in which
situation it is the right thing to do.
However,
in the world as it ought to be, nobody should have to give, because
everybody will have enough.
Giving, rather, then, ideally, (as “stuff” will always move from one location to
another), becomes the sharing of those things which all, collectively, hold in
common, rather than the granting graciously and mercifully of
what one believes he or she “owns.”
 |
| South Loop Campus Ministry Community Meal |
Charity
is the result of inequality.
Of
hoarding. And of greed.
More
deeply, it is the result of ownership—the
demonic delusion that any of God's creation belongs exclusively to
any human or any group of humans.
By
nature, charity is condescending, because it starts with the reality
that the giver is in some way—usually socially and
economically—“above” the receiver.
Interestingly
enough, in the world as it is, it is often those who hoard or have
the most who get praised the most when they finally do decide to
give. This is the case for those givers who "save" small country churches and for philanthropists who fund gigantic
foundations.
Indeed,
when one gives from a place of great privilege, and receives great
and public praise, giving may feel quite good. In fact, one might be
deemed a Saint—by the media, by one's peers, even by those “poor”
people that one has helped with such a generous and Christ-like
tax-deductible contribution.
I,
too, know this praise.
And
praise feels good.
Each
week with members of South Loop Campus Ministry, First Trinity, and
Grace Place, we either deliver sandwiches to the homeless, or invite
the homeless in for a meal.
“You
have such a heart for the poor, Pastor!” “I really admire what
you guys do!”
Not
only do people admire us for our work, but often they, too, want to
“pay it forward,” “get involved,” or “give back.”
And
they should! Because IT IS NECCESARY.
In
the world as it is.
But,
again, in the world as it is, all charity is condescending.
And
our intention in creating any event should be toward creating a
moment or moments of community—not a moment of charity. A moment when we see our
sister or brother as he or she Is—one with us and one with God.
Not as he or she currently exists, as one “less fortunate.”
We
do not want to create a dynamic of an “us” giving to a “them.”
Rather, for a few moments each week, we want to act out the world as
it ought to be. We share what belongs to none of us, and what belongs
to all of us, because it belongs to God, and we are all God's
children.
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| Students and community members deliver sandwiches is sub-zero temperatures with South Loop Campus Ministry |
The act, of course is always symbolic.
Then
we go home, to bed, back into the “real” world.
God
is Love, according to the author of 1 John. God by God's very nature
is coeternal and coequal according to the Athanasian Creed. That is, as clarified by St. Augustine, God the Trinity might be described as Lover, the
Beloved, and the Love.
God
is Love. Love is co-Equality. Love is co-Eternity.
It
makes sense that St. Mary, in her song about God's work sings of
something we often skim over in our overly-sentimentalized,
Hollywood, Disney, How-I-Met-Your-Mother, momentary-Christmastime-gushy-feeling, can't-we-all-just-get-along, it-feels-good-to-give perceptions of Love.
It
is not of Charity
(the
acting out of the world as it ought to be—acting out equality
through sharing that which is not normally shared in the world as it
is)
that
Mary Sings.
Rather
it is of Justice, of Liberation
(the
creation or the becoming of the world as it ought to be).
Not
acting out the ideal world in the world as it is in Eternal moments,
but creating a world that is the world as it ought-to-be, in a more-than-a-moment Eternity.
but creating a world that is the world as it ought-to-be, in a more-than-a-moment Eternity.
At
least for now.
The
lowly shall be lifted. All will be able to eat.
And
Live.
Etc.
The
quote above, the one from Câmara,
is
almost a cliché among my colleagues, and among our circles of
friends.
It's
on posters and coffee mugs, tee-shirts and needlepoint pillow-covers.
But
it continues to speak to the tension raised when we, people of faith, really seek to have a “heart for the poor.” No... Scratch that...
Make
that: Have a heart for all of our sisters and brothers in Creation...
Make
that: Have a heart for our God who is Love,
co-eternal,
and
co-equal,
and
who calls us to love one another,
and
to create a world that reflects that love,
that
co-eternity,
and
that co-equality.
Câmara
was right, though.
 |
| recently shared all over facebook |
Radical,
Idealist, Impractical, Socialist, Liberal, Democrat, Loose Giver,
Anti-Christian (this one is the funniest and most hypocritical, of course)...
Lots of labels. Still. When
we ask:
“Why are people poor?”
“Why are fewer people
rich?”
“And ultra-rich?”
“Why don't we change some
laws and some structural oppressions in order to change that
situation?”
Poor St. Mary—and even
Christ himself—must have dealt with much the same. Well, actually,
much worse!
At least understanding this
makes us feel kind of cool when we do get labeled!
Some friends (and fellow Lutherans) have expressed
discomfort in my involvement in politics over the last few years.
Discomfort in our work in SOUL and IIRON. And in Bridgeport Alliance.
That's not the work of the
church!, they argue. Causing trouble. Exposing inequality. Calling for
liberation and justice.
“That's not the work of the church!”
“That's not the work of the church!”
We do service. We do
charity. We Give! And pray! And sing!
And, well, it feels good!
Well...
To be clear... I think they
are absolutely wrong.,
If the Church is to be about
Love, co-eternal, and co-equal,
it must be about justice,
equality, and liberation as a goal,
and charity in the
meanwhile.
(aka the Kingdom lived in the world, already, with fervent prayer for the Kingdom to come that is not yet.)
AND IT MUST WORK FOR BOTH if it is to truly do works of love.
If the church's only act of
Love is charity,
it is incomplete, and steeping in an unjust world.
it is incomplete, and steeping in an unjust world.
As we prepare this year for
another MLK Day, and as we work with SOUL and IIRON (and other
justice workers work on similar projects around the globe), I invite
you to join us—or join your local organization.
There will be buses from Bridgeport and from Roosevelt University, among other places.
This work is not
in addition, or a compliment to faith, but a work of faith—a work of Love.
You may
even give your goods to feed the poor; you may bestow great gifts to
charity; and you may tower high in philanthropy; but if you have not
love, your charity means nothing. -Dr. King on 1 Corinthians 13.
May God
grace us with hearts of Love, and the desire for that Love to come to
fruition in all of society, in all of our lives, and in all of
existence.
Peace.
Pr. Tom
Gaulke
First
Lutheran Church of the Trinity
South Loop
Campus Ministry, Episcopal/Lutheran 
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