As a departure from the typical posts here at shadowsandsymbols.org, … I think that each of us who is involved with this blog would like to express that our hearts, thoughts, and prayers are with those who are and who are about to be effected by Hurricane Ike in the U.S. states of Texas and Lousiana. This storm is just about to make landfall in the Houston, Texas, area in the next few hours, and it is expected to produce storm surges in the 6 to 7 meter (20-foot) range along part of the NE Gulf of Mexico coastline.

We have never seen government officials in the U.S. warn of “certain death” for those in the path of a hurricane, so we recognize the seriousness of this situation and remember all of those who are in the midst of this very serious storm. May God watch over each of you now in the effected areas with his grace and mercy in your time of need.

Continuing with our reflections on the 12 marks of the New Monasticism, we encounter the second mark:

“Sharing economic resources with fellow community members and the needy among us”

The first mark dealt with geographical relocation, whereas the second mark deals with monetary reallocation. What some have called “commonism” (which is not the same thing as Communism, by the way) was a hallmark of the earliest followers of Christ in Jerusalem. “And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.” (The Book of Acts, chapter 2 verses 43 and 44) Such a deep commitment of communal sharing, however, lasted for decades beyond the Pentecost. As the church father Tertullian later expressed (around the year 200) about the lives of Christ-followers: “Everything is shared among us – except for our wives.” (Tertullian, Apologetics, 39:11)

Such a communal sharing takes real maturity and love. Yet the benefits are remarkable. Everyone is cared for to the best ability of the community. No one is left behind. Each person has the supply and backing of the greater community. Additionally, the leaders of the community cannot gain unfair advantages over the followers on the basis of monetary wealth. What greater statement could there be that God is no respecter of persons.

Notice carefully that there are two different groups of recipients of the common economic resources of the community of followers of Christ: the members of the community and the needy (poor). The needy mentioned here may or may not be part of the faith community. The pagan Roman emperor, Julian the Apostate (who reigned from 355 to 363), was no friend of Christians. However, he famously observed that believers in Christ not only provided for their own poor but also for other poor people, too. Jesus made it clear that he had come to preach good news to the poor, and it was mostly the poor of this world who became his followers in the decades before Christianity was made into an official religion. I, myself, have seen hearts that were hard towards Christ and his followers quickly soften when they see true works of charity given to the poorest of the world by the followers of Jesus. And if there is one thing that I have seen that separates the true spiritual seekers from the spiritual charlatans, it is that their hearts are soft and caring towards the desperately poor.

The New Testament Greek used two words for the poor: penes and ptochos. Penes referred to what we typically call the “working poor”. These were people who did not have many material possesions or property, but who were able to work as day-laborers in order to provide for themselves. Ptochos, on the other hand, were the desperately poor, the destitute ones. It is these needy ones that Jesus was talking about when he said that he was preaching good news to the poor. The poor (ptochos) widow who Jesus observed donating everything that she had to the temple was one of these very needy people. Jesus told the rich young ruler to sell everything that he had and give it to the poor (ptochos). When the apostles Peter and James recognized the work and calling of the apostle Paul, they gave him only one command: that he should remember the poor (ptochos), which was something that Paul was already eager to do. Paul also said that, though he was poor (ptochos), he and his spiritual brothers, through many difficult and dangerous journeys, were making many (spiritually) rich.

It is at the very core and nature of true Christ-followers that they yearn to care for the desperately poor in their own communities and around the world. It is the rhythm, pulse, and heart-cry of Jesus and his disciples, and the sharing community provides a place of wisdom and gentleness for the redistribution of possessions to those who are truly in need.

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For further reading related to this subject, I recommend the article “OK, I Admit It” at Behold: The Blog!

http://www.beholdtheblog.org/ok.html

Let’s now examine and think about the first mark of the New Monasticism:

“Relocation to the abandoned places of Empire.”

In the gospels, we find three different ways that Jesus was referred to as being a son: son of David, son of Man, and son of God. As son of David, we are reminded of Jesus’ connection to the Jewish people, the tribe of Judah, and the Davidic royal house within Judah. As son of God, we see Jesus’ eternal relationship to God the Father. Yet, in spite of these two significant titles, it was “Son of Man” that was Jesus’ favorite self-referential designation.

It’s “son of man” that suggests Jesus’ descent and connection to Adam, the biblical first man. Since we are all Adam’s children, Jesus with this title is also suggesting his connection and relationship to all of us. Taking a closer look at the four gospels, when Jesus used this term to refer to himself, the majority of the time it was in the context of some type of movement, such as coming, going, sending, or handing over. It’s in the incarnation of Jesus that we see the Son of Man, the one who uniquely joins and identifies himself with human beings, coming into the world.

Jesus made it plain that he was only doing here on earth what he saw his father doing. His time here with humanity was about representing the specific interests of his father here on earth. These interests and the representation thereof is called the kingdom of God. Jesus relocated himself from heaven to earth in order to be the perfect ambassador for God’s kingdom here in this world.

Jesus expressly stated that he had come for those who were truly in desperate need: the blind, the sick, the poor. Those who lived on the margins of society were those closest to his heart. (The ten lepers who lived in the no-man’s land between Samaria and Galilee were a good example, and there were many others.)

As followers of Christ, we have been commissioned by Jesus to be his ambassadors here on earth. As Jesus relocated himself in the most dramatic way possible (from heaven to earth and then on to the cross), so now we are each called to move ourselves by his spirit and in his love out to a lost and needy world. We are called to go to the abandoned places: the areas that have been largely forgotten and overlooked by the societies around us.

The term of abandonment strongly suggests the orphaned nature of humanity. For once upon a time, our progenitors Adam and Eve had a face-to-face and unblemished relationship with God their father in Eden. When they were cast out of that garden for their failings, so were we.

Where are these abandoned places? Most of them are right around the corner of your heart. They are the inner cities of the U.S.; they are places of grinding rural poverty in the developing world; they are the orphans on the streets and the widows waiting to die. Each one is precious, created in the very image of God. Each one needs to be blessed, loved, and encouraged by God’s representatives in flesh and blood here on earth.

The term “Empire” could be interpreted in many ways. I see this as, biblically, pointing to the kingdom of darkness. As followers and ambassadors of Christ, we are called to shine the light of Christ into the dark places of this world. When we do, the light overcomes the darkness and the spiritual prisoners are set free. Their freedom comes in changing their alliances from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of God.