Why I think the Church should sell its stuff

A few years ago, the New Orleans Museum of Art held a John Paul II exhibit displaying memorabilia from his visit to New Orleans. This was the summer I became a catholic missionary and although I had come to believe that the Church’s teachings really are the fullness of truth, I had my criticisms. As my friends and I walked through the exhibit, there were pictures of JPII in New Orleans, vestments from the visit, local New Orleans art and all kinds of other cool Louisiana catholic things.

I eventually walked into a room that displayed an obnoxiously extravagant monstrance (for those who don’t know what a monstrance it, it is a structure that displays the Eucharist during adoration, see picture). This thing was all precious metal and covered entirely in jewels.

“Seriously?” I thought. “Isn’t that a bit over the top, aren’t there better uses for that money?” 

My mind however was moving faster than my headphone tour guide and I was slightly ashamed as I listened to the story behind the monstrance. This particular monstrance was built for the 1935 Archdiocese of New Orleans Eucharistic congress. Now for those of you who don’t know what a Eucharistic Congress is, I don’t really either, but I know it involves holy people and adoration. Prior to the congress coming to town, the archdiocese sent out a request to the laymen and women of the diocese to help construct a holding place for the Eucharist. At this request, the Cajuns in the land sent in gold, precious stones, family jewelry, even wedding rings to be melted down to become a resting place for our Lord present in the Eucharist. The monstrance cost nothing; it was a generously donated act of worship by a people who believed that our God deserves the very best.

Feeling a bit shameful, I think I actually teared up as I did this year when I saw the extravagant beauty of every single church into which we walked in Italy. When a people in society worship God, the most beautiful art is created because it all reflects true beauty itself. In modernity, many of us, faithful or not, are asking the question of why the “church” isn’t selling much of this extravagance for a more useful purpose but much of this extravagance was never meant to be useful, it was meant to be worship. We are mistaken in our logic.

The “church” is not “those holy hierarchical people who run the business of church stuff”. I am the church. We are the church. A building cannot worship and Jesus did not die for only priests and religious. He died for the entire world of humans. He desires to make every single one of us holy. He seeks worship from all of us. This was once understood. The purpose of the riches displayed in churches were meant to create a beautiful dwelling for the living God, a genuine sacrifice from humanity.

We adorn what we worship.

But what about today? Where is the adornment? Where is the worship? Where do we put our money? Gyms. Malls. Hotels. Spas. Home renovations. That would be in order, us, us, us, us, and us. The idol that we adorn the most is the idol of self. Generosity, while in existence is merely a faction of what it could be as we hold onto our money, our time, our talent for comfort, afraid of what we would do if we put most of our resources to work for the kingdom of God. But, if we no longer worship God as a society, if we no longer believe in Him, then it does not actually make sense to make a beautiful home for Him. If we worship ourselves, however, then it does make sense that we should lavish our resources upon ourselves, and we do.  

My friends, we are living in such an important time. It is no longer the responsibility of the religious to be holy while we get by on mass attendance. Worship of the living God is not meant for a Sunday service or a brief “nature experience.” True worship occurs when one gives of his ENTIRE self. It occurs when we finally recognize that we were not meant for self-preservation and were not made for comfort. If we were, then we would be the happiest society in the history of the world but we are not. Depression, anxiety and suicide are way higher here than in much poorer countries because in the midst of our mass self-worship, we neglect to make ourselves a gift to the world around us.

We are the church. We should be the emptying myself for the sake of a hurting world in every fashion and for the worship of a real living God. Our time, our money and our gifts were given to us by our creator to be used for His purpose. Our lives should be as extravagant towards God as the beautiful cathedrals meant to give Him everything even if it means letting go of more money than we would like, more time than we think proper and more of ourselves than we would like to give. Yes, the church should sell its stuff and we should leave the buildings alone, they are acts of worship from a wiser generation and we should wake up and follow in their legacy.

For the times when you just can't get over yourself, what is true about you?

Confession time: I am coming up on the end of my second day of complete despair. Sometimes it just needs to happen. Sometimes I just need to throw out all that I know in my heart and have learned over the years and just take a nice bath in my own self-doubt.

There is something strangely self congratulatory about these self deprecating thoughts. I’m not talented; I’m not good enough; no one understands. When I sink into my hole of despair, no one can meet me there and sometimes I like it that way.

It’s just that I can quite seem to jump off of the merry-go-round of identity. Eight months ago the most defining moment of my life occurred when I became a mom. Babies themselves are AWESOME for self-esteem but motherhood on the other hand may be one of most difficult transitions that I have ever made. I used to be able to go where ever and do what ever and I found tremendous purpose in facing the challenge of reselling Jesus to a generation that has passed Him up. How does one go to from the evangelizing the world to … hanging out with a baby? From where am I deriving my meaning? Who or what is giving me my identity?

Yesterday was the memorial of the beheading of John the Baptist and it is he more than any character in salvation history that has taught me how one can define himself correctly and live accordingly. Why is this important? Because we make most of our decisions based on two foundations. The first, how is we see the world and the second is how we see ourselves. If we see the world rightly and understand ourselves rightly then we will make far different choices and build a far different life than if we get those wrong. So, teach us St. John

John the Baptist is known at the wild child of the New Testament. He first comes on the scene in utero when he meets baby Jesus, also in utero, during Mary’s visit to Elizabeth, John’s mother. It is his second appearance however that is so significant for this post. John had made a name for himself as a prophet in Galilee and was so charismatic that many thought he might be the messiah. Curious to know the truth, a couple of Jewish leaders approached John in the gospel and asked him, “Who are you?”.

John immediately answered with who he is not, “ I am not the messiah.” They then asked, “ Are you Elijah?” No. “Are you a prophet?” No.

John finally responds by quoting Isaiah 40:3, “ I am the voice of the one crying out in the desert, "Make straight the way of the Lord".

 

I am not god. I am not Elijah. I am the voice. John was the voice meant to prepare the world for the Jesus. He knew it and that is just what he did. What is so remarkable here is that John new EXACTLY his identity and was able to fulfill his purpose because he derived his identity from the Source of his creation. He soberly believed it which enabled him to live it out.

From where do we derive our identity? We live in a world where we are told that we can be whatever we want to be. Who we are is now relative to our current state of emotion but most of us can’t help but see ourselves through the eyes of the world around us. The only problem is that is that the world’s view of us is incomplete. It is false and if we believe it, our view of our selves wrong.

Other people can not give us our true identity because they can not see us rightly in order to make the correct assessment. They are blinded by their own self interest and they will always be missing information. We would also be wrong to draw the answer to “Who are you?” from ourselves. We tend to lean too much towards pride, or self deprecation.

John knew his exact identity because He knew the Lord and because he knew His word. He had not pride nor despair, simply confidence and humility. His foundation was as firm as it was correct and because of this he did not sway when life did not go well. John ended his life with his head on a platter for speaking truth and yet he was feared for his righteousness, a fruit of true self worth.

See, if God is creator then he knows every single part of us and only he can make an honest  assessment. His own self does not obstruct his view because He ridded his self for our sake. He has given himself completely and knows all perfectly. This means that He knows exactly who we aren’t. He knows that we are broken, he knows every single deceit that we polish up for the world but He also knows every talent that we possess, every good and blessed thing to us which He has given. It is according to His view that He judges and He is the only right judge. He has decided that despite it all and with eyes wide open He set salvation history in motion for the sake of His glory and because we are worth it.

And yet we miss this. I am the perfect example today as I sit and wonder what I can even offer to the world as motherhood has shifted my “production” from catering to the many in public to caring for the one in private. We fool ourselves into thinking that we are worth our output. We believe the assessment of those who are closest to us and I would bet that we do not quite know the Lord who knows us so well. If we don’t know Him then we can't know what He truly thinks of us. And if we do not know His word how can we live out the purpose for which He has made us? When asked “Who are you?" , John quoted scripture. Could we do the same?

Broken and yet so deeply loved, our God is not fooled. We should not be either. We should know who we aren’t. On the other hand, we are simply delightful as proven by a God who delights in us. Let us live out of this soberly with humility and confidence, void of pride or self-deprecation and let us bestow the attitude of our creator on to an unbelieving world so that they may also believe and see themselves through the eyes of their creator.

How I was set free from myself... and you can be too (a piece of my testimony)

It was my junior year of college. I had spent most of my 20’s having an absolute blast at LSU. I had become your typical southern sorority girl living for football and all the social life surrounding it. I grew up catholic but slowing stopped attending mass because the rules no longer made sense and the story no longer seemed relevant. The incarnation had no impact on my life nor did the consequences of the big bad sins about which I had once been told. I could, at the very least, ignore it for a while.

This became a problem at the end of my junior year. As the glitz and glamour of modern culture wore off, I found myself tired. I will never forget one Saturday night as I looked in the mirror. I was wearing a teal dress, hair in a ponytail and about ready to walk over to Tiger Land. I realized that I was doing the exact same thing every weekend and expecting different results. Going out with my friends and drinking far too much at bars, I hoped that I would come home fulfilled with excitement and having met a nice, smart, respectful man who didn’t want to take advantage of me. This was an illusion and it was at that moment in the mirror that the illusion wore off. I went out that night and soberly made a resolution that change was needed. If I continued the cycle, no matter how normal it seemed to the rest of the world, I would get nowhere.

I could go back to my old life in which I was known as the religious girl but I no longer believed in Christianity and I knew I had to reconcile that. I was stepping into atheism, unchartered territory.

The next week, I decided that if I was going to be an atheist, I was going to be a good one and needed to know what that looked likes so I went to Barnes and Noble and bought “ The God Delusion” by Richard Dawkins.

I read the book in three days. His arguments were convincing and as I was reading I asked myself how I would tell my parents that I know longer believed in God? How would I celebrate Christmas? How would I respectfully stay home when they went to mass? Yet, as I closed the book I sat there with this major choice. To believe or not to believe? The decision would shape everything and so I had to make the right one.  Yes, Mr. Dawkins made compelling arguments against the existence of God and I so wanted to be done with the idea of God once and for all but there was one small thing, one off handed comment made by Dawkins that help me back.

In the prologue, Dawkins explained that everything that has ever become obsolete has eventually been phased out of humanity. If someone walked into a room and claimed that the earth is flat, we would laugh at him because we have proof that it is round yet at one time this was the common belief. Religion, Dawkins claimed, is being made obsolete and yet people simply won’t phase it out of society due to fear or stupidity. This bothered me because the first part of his argument almost always holds true. No one uses car phones because they are obsolete, so if religion just won’t go away, is it possible that maybe it isn’t?

In a moment of miraculous humility it was the following thought that crossed my mind followed by the prayer that did me in for good. “ Since the beginning of time, all of humanity as called out, given praise to a creator who exists beyond creation. Why the hell with I, Mallory Bueche, a 21-year-old LSU student in 2008 with a pathetic 3.2 gpa somehow have figured it out? If every people group in the history of the world believes in something beyond the physical, can I deny it? God, I am not sure if you are there but prove yourself to me and I will jump on your team.”

It was this moment of grace, a slight willingness to be wrong about every sophisticated, progressive idea I had formed in college that changed everything. God indeed did prove himself to me and over the next 2 years I spent much of my time relearning my faith. I learned to pray, I learned to read the scriptures, and very slowly (I mean slowly) began to change my behavior. My willingness to be wrong opened my eyes to a God who is everywhere and a humanity that NEEDS the incarnation. Every single view I held about humanity was challenged and I eventually entered ministry.

My friends, I tell you this story because our world view and how we live it out matters. The “you do you”, “believe whatever you want to believe” attitude of the culture is a lie and the consequences of it can be seen in the circus in which we now live. It is possible for us to live a right life or a wrong life that doesn’t change if we simply ignore it for the sake of comfort or emotional codling. We should want to figure out the Truth and live by that Truth no matter the cost.

Today, less people believe in God than ever before and even less people live as though they believe in Him. This does not make us sophisticated. It makes us foolish. God Himself called this out almost 4000 years ago when He spoke this to the Israelites.

“Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery …You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.

If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed”

He knows the heart of man and has known it all along. He made it. We are fooling ourselves if we think we are doing anything new. We are becoming slaves to our own pride, victims of our false worldview and what was predicted in DEUTORONOMY (I mean we haven’t even gotten to King David) is powerfully evident today.

We must recognize that a life lived for God is not the same or as “right” to a life lived apart from Him as long as we are “good people”. We as a society can find humility and admit that it is possible to be wrong. We can allow the living God who created this world and all that is in it to reveal to us the order in which He made it work. We can live according to that order, even if it hurts at first. This would change everything and we would no longer live in a circus of insanity. If God is real, it is His knowledge and His worldview by which we must live or else we will get everything else wrong and the stakes are simply too high. Let us reconsider.

Freedom isn't Free...maybe the cost is too high

Everyone gets sick of their jobs and it is no different for a missionary. Sometimes, its nice to take a break from selling Jesus, put down the halo unfairly bestowed upon you by virtue of your title and just, you know, let loose a bit. During my first year in FOCUS I would do just that. My teammate Andrea and I did not always agree on pop culture and so I had a little spiritual exercise that I would practice when I needed to just do me for a while. When the going got tough, I would get in my car yell out loud, “For freedom Christ has set me free,” and then blare Kanye Wests album Graduation while driving just above the speed limit, just enough to feel dangerous.

R.E.B.E.L

I love this bible verse and have recently been reflecting on it due to the inspiration of my phlegmatic husband. Because I am passionate, I care about everything. I have high highs and low lows. I can switch from true excitement to severe worry in an instant and although it is fleeting, it affects my incredibly even keeled husband much more significantly than I… so I’m working on it.

As I was praying through the notion of freedom for freedoms sake, I hit another, even more event more audacious verse, 

“Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God”

Freedom for freedoms sake? No anxiety at all? NONE? Umm can someone please pass me the Ten Commandments, I think I can follow those better.

A life of freedom, void of anxiety (btw I’m not talking about the medical conditions here) sounds so nice and is offered to us by our Lord so why do we live in a society ridden in bondage and more depressed than ever before? This is in part due to the fact that we are no longer a Christian nation. When we choose to live a part from God’s plan there are consequences.

But what about for the believer? Statistically we look just like the rest of the nation and we claim to worship a God that specifically demanded that we live a life of freedom, void of anxiety.

Why?

As I was praying about these verses, I was faced with the sobering fact that I do not actually desire freedom and I do not want to live without anxiety. To live a life free of these things means that I actually, in reality not simply mentally, have to place all of my trust in God. This means submission.

It means I have to live out the fact that I trust that God actually is in control of my marriage, my family, my FINANCES, my future and this is frankly too much to ask. Although living in any sort of bondage and dealing with any sort of anxiety is miserable, at least it’s my misery and I can control it.

It’s as if the Lord is offering my hearts desire, true joy, but the cost is too high. To simply submit is too provocative.

I mean seriously, about what would I complain? With what would I fill the void? Praise? Gratitude? Humility? No thanks.

It is true that in the end, humanity does not change. We are so similar to the Israelites who longed for their slavery upon their freedom because at least it was familiar. But could it be different? What if we actually did submit ourselves to God and gave him control of the life that He created in the first place. In reality, we choose our own misery for the sake of a control that we do not have.

Full trust in the Lord is simply acceptance of the reality that all is His and that I am His. It is the acceptance of this reality that leads to a life of freedom. Our failure to submit, our thinking that we can control anything, our rejection of freedom and our grasping onto anxiety is a lie and we are fools to buy into it.