Tithes, Talents, and Economic Turmoil

I've been working on this title for my sermon for a few weeks; finally decided to run with it for last Sunday -Nov. 13-   The inspiration for my talk came partially out of the media - Greece and Italy on the economic chopping block while the 'occupy' movements abound in Major cities everywhere.  Take this slice out of current events and read it into the parable of the Talents (Matthew 25) and there I had enough stuff to put my ideas together!

Interesting how I found myself watching an episode of Dragons Den this week (the first time I've actually sat through an entire episode).  In this show, the Dragons declined every pitch from would-be entrepreneurs because the projected profits weren't big enough to bother!  It wasn't enough to show to 25% return on investment or to see large profits over a five-to-ten year span; nope, they were only interested in putting their money behind products that would gouge the suppliers on one end and the consumers on the other end to gain no less than 50% profits in less than a year.  For me, there's something inside me that wants to boycott any products that have that kind of attitudes behind them in the board rooms.

And then I found this little quote on a discussion page - the working title for this guy's ideas was "the parable of the extortionist". Here's an excerpt that kinda got me going: 

Contemporaries of Jesus believed all the wealth of the world was limited and the distribution of riches was preordained. In addition, the economic systems of the ancient world existed for many generations and had grown rigid over time. While someone could quickly amass a fortune, the general populace suspected that person of theft, bribery, or extortion. In a culture wary of change, only the devious and immoral could rise up the economic latter.

When Jesus began the parable, he created additional suspicions. The rich man most likely lived abroad (i.e., he was a foreigner). As he prepared for his journey home, he delegated his underlings to invest his fortune. While the eight silver talents described in 25:15 had a current value of $3 million (or 300 million for all we know), such wealth seemed uncountable to the impoverished contemporaries of Jesus. [25:14-16]

The two of the man's employees doubled the money they were given. How could they do this? Since the story assumed the rich man and his employees were non-Jews, they could lend money at exorbitant rates (30% to 50%) and enforce repayment with the threat of prison. If someone could not repay, he was jailed until his family could repay the loan (this was actually a ransom). The populace hated such lenders for their power and their wealth. They drained the poor people, taking an unfair share of a harvest or grain production as repayment. [25:24-25]

(Another explanation made the extortionist and his men tax collectors who could demand any surcharge they wanted. 50% surcharges were common. The tax collector had the power of imprisonment to enforce his levies. The poor hated these collectors as much as lenders.)

What would a cautious, honorable employee do? Bilking money from the poor was immoral. Without government controls or insurance, no investment was truly safe. So the honorable man would bury his master's money. Hidden away far from one's dwelling, no thief could find a man's gold or silver. And, since inflation in the ancient economic order was unimaginable, money maintained constant buying power from generation to generation. Even Jewish rabbis insisted that anyone who buried his master's money was not liable for it, since this was the most prudent course of action. [25:18]

For me, this kinda got me rolling with ideas and further research into what this parable might actually be about.  I was thrilled to find several theologians suggesting that it might have been the one servant who buried the treasure (and by so-doing acting in opposition to extortion and extravagant injustices) who was the hero in the parable!  What a concept, really, that while the surface reading of the text seems to praise those who bilk the system for maximum profits and punish the one who resists such action.... it might be Jesus' own way of playing out the logic of the power-brokers to show how heartless the pursuit of profit can get if allowed to go unchecked.  The further I ventured into this realm, the more I could see the role of Jesus personified in the one who did what was right with the wealth, and who was then thrown into the streets with all the other commoners for lack of wanting to take even more advantage of these lower economic classes. 

Like I tried to say in my sermon - maybe the 'occupy' protesters are onto this kind of thinking without even knowing they've interpreted the parable in their message to the financial districts of the wealthy world.  Maybe they know more than they let on.... that maximum profit will always come at the expense of ordinary people along the way.

Oh!  and here's a late-breaking addition to my thinking on this - Jeremie just sent this link with someone eles's similar ( and admittedly better refined) thoughts on this text:  (exerpt from Towering Trees and Talented Slaves article).  This is challenging stuff from my North-American "home page" on this.  challenging, but in a good way!

Thanks for sharing the journey with me!

A democratic society

Today I engaged the political process in a way I'd not-yet attempted before..

It was an appointment in the office of Harold Albrecht, Kitchener/Conestoga MP for the Conservative Party.  The incentive for the visit was to bring petitions against and conversation concerning problems with Bill C-4 (formally known as Bill C-64).  The working title for this Bill, due for debate in the House of Commons this Winter, is as follows:  "Preventing Human Smugglers from Abusing Canada's Immigration System Act"  The thing is, much if not most of the content in this bill pertains to detaining persons seeking asylum for refugee protection and prohibiting refugee applicants from reasonable assimilation into Canadian society.  In other words it hardly addresses the issue of human smugglers and threatens to contravene several human-rights policies already signed onto by our nation.

The delegation consisted of myself (representing I suppose Hawkesville Mennonite Church), George Tompkins ( pastor of the Waterloo chapter of The Meeting House, Waterloo  ) and Eunice, with Mennonite Coalition for Refugee ServicesMennonite Coalition for Refugee Support.  While there are many easily accessible examples of why this bill should be of concern, here are a few links to some one-page summaries of concern posted by reputable sources:  Canadian Civil Liberties Association  , Refuge Lawyers Association of Ontario , Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops , and The Canadian Bar Association.  Anmesty International also has several helpful resources to dissect what's really going on with this bill.

Harold and staff gave us a warm reception and slightly more than 40 minutes to dialogue with himself.  While we did feel listened to, Harold was careful to communicate with us that the majority of communications he receives from his constituency are in opposition to what he understood us to be lobying for.   Thanks to media coverage from the shipload of refugees docking in Vancouver last year, I get the impression that he hears his constituency expressing fear of unwanted asylum seekers taking advantage of Canada's 'soft' immigration policies.  It was a bit of an education for me to hear that it is an MP's perception of the majority opinion in his/her constituency that sways any influence on an MP.  My lesson is that increased communications to his office from more and more sectors in his riding will have an effect!

Coming away from the meeting I'm reminded of a few things I'll want to ponder: 1) Bill C-11 is a document Harold kinda wanted us to recognise as an example of Federal Government support for increased acceptance of refugees, so I guess I'll want to read that one sometime soon (my suspicion is that bill attempts to hand-pick refugees with specific skill sets for optimum employability); 2) the best ways to ensure an MP might work with a cause include: extending multiple forms of relationship, recognising work already done in support of similar causes, and increasing the numbers of contacts from enough constituents to justify an MP stepping it up on behalf of what appears to be a shared opinion in the broader constituency.

All in all, I appreciated the whole experience.  And I do have a new appreciation for the role(s) an MP fills.  And I do affirm this: Harold is a well-meaning gentleman, even if our politics do not align.  And if nothing else, I did come home with a complimentary Canadian Flag - thats something!

Anyhow, here's a link to Bill C-4  - the complete text to read through now that you've read a bit about the opposition for the bill.

How I spent some holiday time

November kind-of appeared on my calendar without a warning.  With scarcely eight weeks left in the year, and nearly two weeks of holidays still un-claimed I took the opportunity of a Sunday 'off' to disappear for a few days of retreat..

Crieff Hills Retreat center (just outside Morriston/Puslinch/Guelph) was my get-a-way stop for the first two days. Crieff Home Page It provided a great spot for some solitude and introspection in an off-the-beaten-track setting.  In addition to a 15k run down the roads one afternoon, I really enjoyed walking the trails on the property on the pine-needle walk-ways.

Day three of my little holiday had me on a roof with Blackhawk construction.  Murray called it 'roofing for Jesus' - his own way of naming this voluntary project on the director's house at Hidden Acres (near New Hamburg).   While this particular venture in my holiday was anything but introspective, I must say I learned more than a few tricks from the pros when it comes to putting up steal roof.  Thanks Murray and Ron for a much more hands-on-component to my vacation!

Day four I attended an MCEC workshop entitled "Money Sanity".  Nathan Dugan was co-sponsored by MCEC and Mennonite Foundation to facilitate an all-day workshop on the cool things that can happen when we work from a Share...Save...Spend approach to money management.  - that's right, the first word in that progression is indeed 'Share'.  Some interesting sociology in the research shows that children who learn early to share their money (donations, gifts, tithes) tend to have higher incomes later in life, possess healthier levels of self-esteem, and generally live richer lives.  I'm thinkin even though this was more-or-less a day in my holiday calendar.... its probably one of those resources we'll do well to put to work somewhere in the church programs this year.

Something for November

I decided today to put an end to this whole procrastination thing.  I mean - TEN MONTHS without any updates or entries makes for significantly less than a poor attempt at blogging.  Seriously!  So this marks the beginning of a new start: a revived blog with a renewed attempt at being relevant.

I'm thinking this will be a kind of journal in one way; a method of plotting some of my journies and experiences as I do whatever I do as a pastor.  And maybe it'll be a good place to plot questions, musings, or even opinion polls (who knows)  in hopes of evoking a few responses here and there.

So.  This is Post ONE of the re-started blog.  Wish me luck!