Money is a Medium, not the Destination
March 9, 2025
Last week Rev. Gaylyn spoke about whether we are above the line or below the line. If you are feeling below the line, then you are filled with dread because you feel that there is not enough. Not enough money, energy, space and time. That is the story we tell ourselves when we are below the line. But if you are feeling below the line, meaning a sense of dread and fear, and in action that arises from risking in a new chances or any new possibilities. Whereas when we are above the line…
we are open, curious, creative, committed to learning and listening and are generative of new ideas. And either state has more to do what’s going on inside of us than what’s going on inside of the world. The world can be falling apart, or our country can be attacked by unjust and irrational tariffs, but we can still choose to live above the line.
As we enter into the season of Lent, I think that many people think of Lent as being a time of living below the line. A season that has traditionally been marked by giving up something we treasure or take pleasure in. The problem is that the ‘why’ behind this tradition, of giving up, has become disconnected from the action of giving something up. Giving something up, particularly something we like, was to teach us the discipline of placing our love of God ahead of our desires. Unfortunately, for a number of reasons, this strategy has for at least several decades largely failed to achieve its intended goal, which was to bring us closer to God, as God is known in Jesus. The theologian, Jeffery L Trimble Senior says, “Lent shouldn’t be seen as a giving up of something, but rather the taking upon ourselves, the intention and receptivity to God‘s grace so that we may worthy participate in the mystery of God with us.” So, what I think what Trimble is saying is that Lent which has traditionally been seen as a below the line time, is actually meant to lift us above the line into God mystery and awe. For reason, this season of Lent, we’re going to be talking about and trying to experience the awe and mystery of God.
Therefore, the Gospel lesson that we heard today seems like a strange place to start. Jesus is led by the Holy Spirit into the desert. The desert is considered barren, dangerous and generally a below the line kind of place. It is a place that we get in touch with scarcity. Not enough water, food and shelter. Pretty basic stuff. Of-course here is where temptation is most keenly felt. Whether there is an intelligent agent pulling the strings or our own story playing the fear of not enough hangs over us like a massive chunk of ice. The temptation is to think of ourselves and our selves only. In my ministry I have been to lots of Annual meetings for lots of congregations. Some because I was their minister and others because I was supervising the congregation because they had no minister. Not all the time, but often enough, when a deficit budget was proposed, someone brave soul would stand and say well you know if we just cut back or eliminated our mission work then we would have a balanced budget. Which on the surface would be true but it would create an unbalanced deficit to our commitment to God and the work of Christ. Image saying we can keep the lights but only if we cut out the money we spend on bread and juice? Luckily neither Forest Hill nor Trinity are in that place but the first temptations that Jesus faces is one that many face in their homes and their congregations. Notice that feeding yourself or keeping the lights on are not evil things. It isn’t the action, but rather the motivation for the action where we see good or evil. When we act out of fear, then we, not the evil one, choose to live below the line.
The second temptation in Luke is about power. Once again, power can do great or terrible things depending upon the character of the person who wheels that power. And one’s character arises from what or whom they worship.
For example, in 1st Timothy 6:10, Paul writes, “For the love or worship of money is the root of all evil, which, while some coveted after it, they have erred from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs or sorrows.” Here I want to slip in the last of our holy currencies. We have explored the currencies of truth, relationship, wellness, leadership, time, and place, and now let’s talk money.
Eric Law, who developed the holy currencies program reminds us that money was developed as a temporary medium of exchange to the facilitate the movement of goods and services. Money was never meant to be the goal, but rather only one of the means to reach a goal. It is in the confusion of that truth, which has caused many sorrows. But it doesn’t have to be that way. For example, when someone comes to this church, looking to rent space we and they know the price or value that the world would ascribe to a specific room. However, the world places no value on the relationships, or the wellness created from the sharing of that space nor that it is better for a church to have people in the building, then to have it sit needlessly empty. In fact, we cannot even begin to calculate the value to the church, the community and the Kin-dom of God when we generously share space. Time and time again when we have been generous with this space it has created a sense of awe. I have seen that awe, that surprise on the faces of those whom we have treated with generosity. In sharing space below the market value, we declare that there are many things more important than money.
The last temptation is around personal safety. This is a tough one, because there is no greater fear, than the loss of life for a loved one, or for ourselves. The devil speaks something that I have heard many, many times. When the innocent suffer, where was God? When a child gets cancer, where is God?
When our bodies are attacked by some virus, what did I do for God to punish me so? Surely if God loved us, God would protect us. Jesus’ response is clear. Love does not shield us from harm but rather love supports us when harm comes to our door. Think back to the living below the line image. Security becomes a major driving force when we live in fear. But this communion table which speaks of death, bodies broken, and blood poured out also declares that Easter mystery which is the reason for our Lenten journey. To remind us that a life lived with love cannot be destroyed. A life lived with faith does not come to an end. A life lived with compassion continues to give long after the body is gone. These are mysteries that our world cannot comprehend but are open to us when we live in awe.
Amen