Friday 13 March 2009

Background

Tenderly

Tenderly, I now touch all things,
knowing one day we will part.

St John of the Cross  (a 16th century Carmelitemonk and mystic)

Jesus told this story in the presence of the religiousleaders of the day. They took offence, knowing that he was tellinga story about them. It was really a story about people, played outin this example through organised religion in the time ofJesus.

The Temple was wealthy by anyone's standards. Those who wereleaders within it oversaw the growth and use of that wealth. Itacquired and kept wealth through offerings and expectations thatwere veiled in language about pleasing God, but were often notfundamentally connected to God's role and place in the community atall.

Jesus once more made the connection clear between people'sGod-given roles as custodians of God's generosity and abundance,and their tendency to then manipulate and control that to their owncomfort and desires. It was a short step into self-justifyingbehaviour and beliefs that took God's gifts as personalpossessions, rather than community assets to be shared andcelebrated.

The tendency to place too much store in what can be stored isvery human. As they did then, we today look for certainty, forreassurance and for security in external things too often.Desperate or avaricious, greed lives to a degree in us all. And inthe process God is sidelined, community is diluted, boundariesaround yours, mine and ours made more and more solid.

To Ponder

What are the things that help you feel secure?Are they really trustworthy?

What would you use the word 'mine' todescribe?

What would you use the word 'ours' to describe,and who does that include?