Daily Office

Year One, Proper 7, Sunday: Material Detachment

Today's Readings:

• Psalm 66,67
• 1 Samuel 4:12-22
• James 1:1-18
• Matt 19:13-30

James writes that faith brings wisdom, doubt does not. We are tempted by our own desire, which gives birth to sin, which gives birth to death. Talk about a hot and cold passage. While I am a lover of wisdom myself, I don't see doubt as a bad thing, but this passage can easily be used to justify statements like "believe or burn." The second part is a good model of how dangerous things start: desire. Remember, money is not the root of all evil, but love of money is the root of all evil.
Matthew also presents us with a difficult passage, one that has haunted me for years. The rich young man asks about what good deed is necessary for eternal life. Despite keeping all of the laws, the young man realizes that something is missing. Jesus tells him to sell all of his posessions, which the young man cannot do. He is still connected and invested in his possessions. I have the same problem. I'm a pack rat. I watch shows like "Mission:Organization" and shudder when people are forced to throw out so many of their things because they aren't being used. My hobbies cycle, and some of them, like my guitar, don't get used for over a year at a time, then I get the desire to play again, relearn what I've forgotten, and pull it out. By the "Mission:Organization" standard I should throw it all away if I haven't used it in a year. What happens when I get the bug to play the guitar? I have to buy or rent one. I don't have that kind of money. I'm not sure that I could sell my stuff to ease my life. Of course, when I think about those horrible life changing events like a fire that destroys everything you own, what would I replace? I probably wouldn't replace the guitar right away, but I know eventually I'd buy another one. I think the important thing is being able to let go of material desire. The rich young man couldn't let go of it. Job had that kind of detachment. Was Job saddened by the loss of his family and land? Yes. Did he let that loss define his life? No. Maybe it's time to re-read Job.

posted by Josh English @ 2:29 PM