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Learning for Life: Cultivating a Student Spirituality
Week 12
Jamie VanderBerg, Chaplain at University of Guelph
12.1 Depending on God in a McTerial World
“I thought you would call me ‘Father.” Jeremiah 3:19
When I was a graduate student studying in Toronto, I would take the GO Train into the city. As I made my way along the lakeshore for the first time, I took pause from the novel I was reading and looked up. The train walls had a number of advertisements posted on them, but their impact was muted by the dizzying array of billboards that we were passing along the way. There were billboards on top of high-rises, billboards that flipped images, billboards that lit up like television screens. All of them seemed to be screaming: Experience life to its fullest—buy me!
Though the Lord’s Prayer was recited by Jesus centuries ago, it still speaks volumes in our McTerial, “buy me” world. The contours of this prayer are not immaterial.
The Lord’s Prayer begins with a simple invocation: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. These opening words draw our attention away from ourselves and focus our sight on God. The invocation is an intimate and, yet, respectful expression of love. It is a stated recognition of our dependence on God that serves as an opening through which we can truly experience life to its fullest.
In the book of Jeremiah, God speaks through his prophet, reminding his people that he was more than happy to treat them as children, not as a matter of condescension but of provision. He gave them a land of abundance and hoped that they would call him, “Father.”
God longs to have us express our dependence on him, but not so that we can inherit a new land or have more stuff with which to fill our garages. As Meister Eckhart has noted, we do not rightly love God if we are looking simply for the milk and cheese he provides.
This opening invocation pulls us away from our selfish desires and the currents of this rather empty McTerial World—a world that is premised on the belief that we are dependent on the next technological gadget and that we need it by the time we get to the drive-thru window. In such a world, we never fully arrive and are always left wanting more.
In approaching God with these words, we stand, like Moses, with our sandals removed before the burning bush. We show respect to the One Who Provides, and we open the door to a different way of living in this world. In recognizing our dependence on God, we can, if only temporarily, remove ourselves from the circular drive-thru of materialistic desire and participate in a new exodus. In living out the Lord’s Prayer, we enter upon a new kingdom—a kingdom that is life in its fullest.
Prayer
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name;
We stand before you with our sandals removed and recognize that life itself comes from you.
We praise you for bringing forth a new exodus in Christ. Amen.
Quote: “Some people want to see God with their eyes as they see a cow and to love him as they love their cow—they love their cow for the milk and cheese and profit it makes them. This is how it is with people who love God for the sake of outward wealth or inward comfort. They do not rightly love God when they love him for their own advantage.” Meister Eckhart
12.2 Your Kingdom Come: Reconciling our McTerial World
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him.” Colossians 1:15
Our experience of thrones and dominions and powers has become a cross-cultural experience. As a North American undergraduate, I spent some time studying in Budapest. Two blocks from my place of residence was a historic building known for the role it played in the communist regime. By the time I arrived in 1994, that regime had crumbled and the building had been taken over by another empire—an empire of fast food origins. Burger King’s trademark and menu graced the concrete walls in a strikingly inappropriate fashion.
We live in an age of diverse and intersecting empires. The monarchies of yesteryear have given way to a greater number of democracies, but the notion of “empire” continues to manifest itself nonetheless. In our global village, the intersecting empire of our McTerial World is all too apparent. We live in a world of corporate sponsorships, political systems driven by Wall Street and economics built upon the desire for more. Though it’s not all bad, our McTerial World doesn’t have the significance or the staying power of the alternative empire into which Christ invites us to take up residence.
In fact, the author of Colossians points out that all such empires have been created through Christ and for Christ. This isn’t to say that Christ is happy with our McTerial World, but that it, too, is subject to his rule. It’s open to critique; it requires engagement; it cannot be ignored or naively absorbed into our daily life.
The second petition of the Lord’s Prayer takes this one step further: It invites the Kingdom of God to come on earth as it is in heaven. The Kingdom of God is more than just a political order, a state of mind or heavenly realm. The Kingdom of God is an incarnational kingdom exemplified in the person of Jesus. It is marked out by the boundaries of reconciliation—reconciliation between God and humanity, between humanity and the rest of creation, between the various and often competing empires that make up our current reality.
As subjects of this alternative kingdom, we are called to engage the diverse and intersecting empires of this world, reconciling even our McTerial World to God. We need to critique and embrace, submitting ourselves and our lifestyles to Christ.
Prayer
Jesus, all things are created through you and for you,
Enable us to submit ourselves to you, reconciling the various kingdoms of this world to you; Give us the wisdom to know when to critique and when to embrace. Amen.
Quote: “In the context of Rome, to confess that Jesus is Lord is to confess that Caesar is not, and that we are not ultimately subservient to the structures, practices and ethos of the empire . . .. In our contemporary context, this means that the ideology of economic growth does not rule our lives. We are not subservient to the demands of consumerism, ecological despoliation and every technological innovation. We are committed to submitting all of our lives . . . to the One in whom, through whom and for whom all things were created.” Brian Walsh, “Subversive Poetry and Life in the Empire”
12. 3 Tenanting God’s Will
“There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers.” Matthew 21:33
We sat around in a circle. There were twenty of us in my graduating class. Near the end of the academic year, we gathered together for a final retreat. As we sat facing one another, we were asked to predict where each of us would end up in ten years’ time. My English teacher pulled me aside after the group activity and said, “You have something worthwhile to say. If you don’t write something of significance, you’ll have wasted your life.” She haunted me throughout the decade that followed.
It seemed to me, at the time, that it was easier to see the unfolding of God’s will in someone else’s life than it was in mine. From my perspective, life seemed to progress more by accident and circumstance than by any predetermined plan.
Planning, however, is central to our lives. We arrange trips and vacations; we prepare for careers; and, in our McTerial world, we even plan for our financial future. But what is God’s plan? What is his desire for us, for the church, for his children and what shape does it take in our lives? What does it mean to pray: Your will be done? Much like the words spoken by my English teacher, these questions ought to haunt us more than they usually do.
In the Parable of the Tenants, Jesus tells a story about a landowner who planted a vineyard, dug a wine press and built a watchtower. If you read Psalm 80 and Isaiah 5, you’ll realize that this is not a particularly unique way to start a story. Throughout the Old Testament, God is seen as planting a seed in Israel, attempting to grow a well-pruned vine. He processes their fruit and encourages them to be a blessing to the nations. He erects watchtowers on a number of different occasions and walks with them through some of the darkest of valleys.
But it’s important to note that we are not just pawns being shuffled around according to God’s plan. We are also tenants of God’s will, living on rented land, breathing borrowed air, consuming pre-owned goods and bearing fruit that’s not ours alone. God not only digs a winepress and builds a watchtower, he incorporates us as tenanted partners in his plan.
The determination of God’s will for our lives, then, begins in the very ordinary and everyday recognition that we are also tenants of God’s will and caretakers of his creation. To pray, “Your will be done,” does not mean that we plan selfishly for our own survival or wait to be moved by God, but that we live our lives in such a way as to bear some very ordinary fruit in God’s kingdom, working through our communities to be a blessing to those around us.
Prayer
Holy Spirit, reveal to God’s will for our lives;
Give us the strength to be good tenants and the grace to be eager recipients;
Mold us into the image of the one who created, sustains and redeems us. Amen.
Quote: “Living with “the authority of scripture,” then, means living in the world of the story which scripture tells. . . . It means that Christian leaders and teachers must themselves become part of the process, part of the way in which God is at work not only in the Bible-reading community but through that community in and for the wider world.” N.T. Wright, Simply Christian, 187
12.4 Give us This Day: The Art of Persistent Grumbling
“If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve.” Exodus 16:3
We excel in the art of persistent grumbling. It’s a fairly pervasive spirit in our culture, on our campuses and in our churches. We don’t seem to have enough time in our day; our professors don’t prepare fair exams; and the volume of the drums is too loud for our Sunday morning worship. If there’s anything we’re good at, it’s grumbling.
Hungarians are no exception to this rule. As a nation under Russian control, Hungary was uniquely situated within earshot of western capitalism. Prior to 1990, most of the country longed to be on the other side of the wall.
While I studied there, I met up with a 64 year-old man. He could remember times of prosperity prior to World War II. While he was raising a family, however, he was essentially an employee of the state. He longed to make more money and have more control over his advances, but, truth be told, his situation had its perks. He was a labourer, working 36 hours every week, with traditional hours Monday through Thursday. His weekend began every Friday at noon, and he made enough money to take his family out to a restaurant every other week.
When the communist regime fell, the entire nation celebrated. Four short years later, this 64 year-old man actually bemoaned the situation. He spoke fondly of the days when their currency was stable, when his pension was worth something, when he didn’t have to work six days a week. He grumbled on both sides of the wall.
There’s an obvious genetic link between us and the Israelites who wandered in the desert for forty years. They had also been oppressed by the state and made to work long hours, but when they were walking through the desert, hungry and lost, they started to look more fondly upon their experience in captivity. After their release, after they witnessed some of God’s most spectacular displays of power, they still dared to grumble.
Their persistent grumbling, however, was met with yet another act of grace. Manna and quail fell from the heavens on a daily basis. God provided not just the sustenance they needed; he provided bread that tasted like honey and savoury meat that would have been the envy of the Egyptian chefs.
We live in a thankless, insatiable age. The more we acquire and the greater our progress, the further we distance ourselves from God. Our McTerial World is driven by ingratitude, while the Kingdom of God is built upon its opposite. When we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,” we are reminded that we ought to be grateful, that we ought to acknowledge that all things come from God, even and especially the bread of life that is Jesus Christ. How can we not be grateful in the presence of such grace, especially the day before American Thanksgiving?
Prayer
Loving God, teach us to be satisfied;
Sanctify our desires and direct them toward you, through your Spirit;
Stir within us a deep-seeded spirit of gratitude. Amen.
Quote: “Consumerism is a creation of capitalism. Insatiability is not; capitalism only capitalizes on it.” Miroslav Volf, “In the Cage of Vanities,” 174
12.5 Canceling Debt
“The servant fell on his knees before him. “Be patient with me,” he begged, “and I will pay back everything.” The servant’s master took pity on him, cancelled the debt and let him go.” Matthew 18: 26-7
One of the pillars of the Make Poverty History campaign is the cancellation of the debt accrued by the world’s poorest countries. These countries are plagued with corrupt governments, twisted political agendas and cash crop economies. There’s no easy solution to their plight, but well-monitored debt relief would certainly assist these developing nations, freeing up monies for infrastructure, schools and healthcare. The question that’s directed to those of us on this side of poverty is: Can we cancel their debt?
For many living in this McTerial World, there’s no incentive to do so. It’s not like anyone has cancelled our personal or national debt, and we have little or nothing to gain in the process. But the question remains, and the perseverance of charity is at stake.
Though forgiveness and debt cancellation are not directly related, both operate on a similar principle. In many of Jesus’ teachings, we’re instructed to give even if we haven’t received or if we have nothing to gain in the transaction. We’re told to welcome the stranger, clothe the naked and visit the imprisoned, regardless of whether or not we’ve ever been clothed or visited by someone else. At the heart of Jesus’ ministry is the idea of charity.
In the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant, Jesus offers some unique insight into the nature of forgiveness. In the parable, there are two servants. The first owes ten thousand talents to the master. The second servant owes the first far less—only the equivalent of half a year’s wage. The master relinquishes the debt of the first servant and invites him to live his life in a similar manner, forgiving the debt of his fellow servant.
There’s a well-worn saying that this parable and the fifth petition of the Lord’s Prayer put into question: “Forgive and forget.” The master, in this parable, never forgot the debt that had been cancelled. He expected the first servant to live differently, to be forgiving, to be filled with a gratitude that would continue the gift-giving. The real beauty of God’s forgiveness seems to lie not in some abstract understanding of divine amnesia, but in God’s ability to see us for who we are and still love us.
This parable paints a beautiful picture of our God—a master of mercy and forgiveness. He gives without receipt. This picture paints a sharp contrast to the images of this McTerial World—a world in which you give in order to acquire and you loan in order to make a profit. God has given us so much and, if filled with gratitude, invites us to give without receipt as well.
Prayer
O Lord, on this day of Thanksgiving we praise you;
We praise you for your providential hand and your mercies that are new every morning.
Inspire us to be charitable and to give without receipt. Amen.
Quote: “The tighter you squeeze, the less you have.” Thomas Merton
12.6 Lead Us Not Into Temptation
“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.” Luke 4:1-2
Temptation is one of the primary tentacles of our McTerial World. The obvious temptations are not always the most difficult to resist. Most of us can steer clear of the prostitute’s street corner or the crack house down the street. The more subtle temptations, however, are no less dangerous.
Leafing through the brochures, Erin found herself harbouring a newfound excitement. It seemed like every university in Ontario was vying for her attention, flirting with her future. In the end, Erin chose to attend York University.
Sitting in the backseat of her parents’ car, Erin blocked out her dad’s annoying words of advice and her mom’s, “Are you sure you really want to go here?” Instead, Erin looked out the window at the vast array of buildings. She would soon become one of 40,000 students, identified not by personality or by name, but painted by number—student 7050386. At that point, however, as she drove in for the first time, she felt like she was on top of the world, like she could go it on her own.
After Jesus was baptized by John, he, too, entered a place of preparation—the desert. Like Erin, Jesus was on top of the world; in his case, he was filled with the Holy Spirit. It didn’t take long, however, for the devil to stand before him. “All of this, all of this can be yours.” The devil invited Jesus to make the same mistake that Adam and Eve did; he invited Jesus to go it on his own. Three times, Jesus was tempted, “You don’t need God; why don’t you just turn this stone into bread. You don’t really need God; all of this can be yours—the authority, the splendour, the power. He can’t save you if you jump.”
In the middle of the desert, the devil tries to convince Jesus that he doesn’t need God, that he can go it on his own. Jesus is tempted in the desert to make the same mistake we do each and every day in our McTerial World, to live as if we don’t need God.
The sixth petition of the Lord’s Prayer is a desperate statement to the contrary. It takes the petition, “Give this day our daily bread,” and takes it one step further. Not only are we dependent on God for our daily bread, we are dependent on God to keep us from thinking otherwise. Lead us not into temptation: Even this is something that we cannot do on our own.
On day 40, Erin called home from York University; she was homesick, and saddened by how much of herself she had already given up. She had walked in on top of the world, thinking she could go it on her own; forty days later, she wanted so much to be home, to taste a home-cooked meal, to sit around the table with her family. On day 40, she called home.
You and I can make the same phone call.
Prayer,
Spirit of God, keep us from the tentacle of temptation;
Direct our hearts, our minds, our lives toward you;
In our weakness, make us strong. Amen.
Quote: “If you don’t feel hunted by the Evil One, it is because you are already caught or blind.” Calvin Seerveld, Take Hold of God and Pull, 184
12.7 Delivering a Welcome
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” Luke 15:20
Camping has become an annual tradition for our young family. Each year, we place a canoe on top of our van, anchor the trailer to our vehicle’s hitch and place our bikes in their racks. For a number of weeks, we drink our percolated coffee as the sun rises; we hike over old glacial highways; and we swat the pesky mosquitoes that complete the picture.
Though our family treasures these times up north, there’s something about returning home, about sleeping in your own bed, about taking a much needed shower. There’s something about a homecoming that takes on an air of celebration.
This is even truer if you’re being delivered from a particularly unpleasant situation. I once heard a Canadian hostage speak at the University of Guelph after his release from an Iraqi cell. He couldn’t put words to the feeling that accompanied his newfound freedom; he stumbled and tripped over his joy.
At one point in his ministry, Jesus told a story about a certain son who returned home after having been away from quite some time. The Parable of the Lost Son is a story about two brothers, one of whom asks for his portion of the inheritance, so that he can squander it away in worldly living. The other brother remains at home to work the fields.
When the first son returns home empty handed, having fully entered a McTerial World, the father has compassion on him and welcomes him with open arms. By the father’s grace, a party is held, a fattened calf is slaughtered and the family celebrates.
This parable can be read in a number of different ways, but it’s, first and foremost, a parable about God’s grace—a grace that is sufficient even for those children who waste their gifts away, who fall into the arms of evil, who succumb to the pressures of the McTerial World. As Henri Nouwen notes in The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming, it’s a story of release—a story of being welcomed home by the father. Put otherwise, it’s a story of deliverance.
When we pray, “Deliver us from evil,” we take another step toward the open arms of the Father. We acknowledge the extent to which the empires of this world, including the tentacles of our McTerial World, have affected us, twisted our facial expressions and left us longing for renewal. Each time we offer this prayer, we take another step away from the ingratitude and the temptation of this world, moving one step closer to God’s compassion and Christ’s redemptive work.
It doesn’t surprise me in the least, then, that we are moved to end the Lord’s Prayer by saying:
Prayer
For your is the Kingdom, the power and the glory,
Forever and ever. Amen.
Quote: “Most men pursue pleasure with such breathless haste that they hurry past it.” Soren Kierkegaard
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