Space For God

Chipping Away at the Bricks in the Wall

Posted: 22/05/2007


Space For God continued its tradition of experimentalism on Sunday as I spoke from behind a partition to the rest of the gathering to illustrate the debilitating effect of the walls that exist between people and the walls that exist between people and God. The effect of having a barrier blocking me from the rest of the gathering so that they could hear my voice but not see my face was difficult both for me as well as the rest of the community. I know that in the age of the Podcast this is typical, but the fact that the gathering knew where the voice was coming from and knew that I was so close, yet so far away made it somewhat different. Funnily enough, even though I couldn't see people looking at me, I was somewhat more self-conscious than I would have been if no such wall existed.

We started by looking at the walls that we put up to protect us from ourselves. I pointed out that being human can entail a lot of responsibility towards others, so by refusing to affirm our own humanity, we are able to ignore the humanity in others. It is tough to be honest with ourselves and honest about our responsibilities as human beings, but this is what we need to do if we are to be of any use in the Kingdom of God.

Our first lectionary reading from Amos 8:4-7 spoke about the walls of greed that prevented the elite in Israel from either responding to the needs of the poor or relating to God. Religious observance had merely become an obstacle in the way of making more money. As soon as these people had gone through the motions of religious observance, they were back in the market. Not only did they neglect the needs of the poor, but they actively sought to exploit their vulnerabilities by ripping them off with dishonest measures. They would then use their ill-gained profit to employ the poor as cut-price labour so as to expand their respective empires.

Our second lectionary reading was the story of Jesus and Zaccheus in Luke 19:1-10. Just like the people in Amos' time, Zaccheus became wealthy through using his position as a tax-collector to rip people off. Presumably, it would have been the poor of the land that were most at risk. However, Zaccheus' wealth came at a price. He had power without glory. Among the A-listers in Jericho, Zaccheus was seen as a social pariah. I suspect that rather than guilting Zaccheus into changing his ways, it would have reinforced his behaviour. After consistently being denigrated as less than human by the social set, I suspect that Zaccheus would have begun to see himself in this way. And if you're not truly human, why are you obligated to act in a truly human way towards others?

Zaccheus had one other wall. He was short. Unable to see over the crowd of people flocking to see Jesus appear, Zaccheus climbs a sycamore tree. (Just as a tangent, it is interesting to note that before Amos got into the business of being a prophet, Amos 7:14 states that he actually looked after sycamore trees for a living. What significance this has, I don't know.) Jesus sees him and decides to invite himself over to Zaccheus' place. This isn't a rude gesture - it's a way to affirm that Zaccheus can be useful. And by affirming that Zaccheus could be useful, Jesus was affirming Zaccheus' humanity. For the first time in ages, Zaccheus was forced to see himself as a human. And as a human he was forced to acknowledge that he had responsibilities towards others besides himself. We don't know the details of the conversation that took place at Zaccheus' house, but it must of had a profound effect on him - Zaccheus pledged to give away half of his possessions to the poor and pay back four times the amount to anyone he had ripped off. And so, in one short day, an entire lifetime of unscrupulous business practices were completely and irrevocably changed.

One of the things that struck me about this passage was the juxtaposition of Jesus' response to Zaccheus with the response of Zaccheus' accusers and the result that each response had. While the condemnation of Zaccheus by his accusers actually reinforced his behaviour, the affirmation of Zaccheus as a person of worth by Jesus actually encouraged Zaccheus to see himself as someone who could actually positively contribute to the lives of others. This is a great challenge to us in the way that we respond to those who oppress and exploit others. By rejecting them as people, we reinforce their behaviour. But by affirming them, loving them and praying for them, we chip away the walls that prevent them from seeing that they are truly human and that they have a responsibility to act in a truly human manner towards others.

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• I am sorry I missed Space for God on Sunday. The wall of technology and distance was too hard when I was up in the wilds of Donegal. I am, however, deeply moved by Dave’s descriptions. I think the Zaccheus story definitely has a lot to teach us. When I was in Canada I met a man, Chris, who had spent time at L’Arche in Cape Breton Island. That was my first experience of a L’Arche community and it profoundly affected me. What Chris had learnt in his time at L’Arche, and what he helped me to realise is the very realisation Dave speaks about in this post. He helped me to understand that engaging with others requires conversation and even communion with those who oppress others, as well as those parts of ourselves which aim to judge and condemn.

  This played out practically when I became part of a group running a conference on Access to Education, I had to continually put this idea into practice. When I engaged with the right-wing, budget oriented university administration, in a climate of fear and suspicion of anyone who looked like a radical (late 2001), I had to connect to people I did not understand and who were alien to me and to my ideas. I had to engage with people who were doing things I hated, and I had to not slip into judgement, condemnation and ridicule. It was very difficult, but it paid off every time. I learnt to my shame, how I reinforced the separation between “right-wing” and “left-wing”, between “welfare” and “economics”, between “administration” and “free thought”, between “nice people” and “bad people”, everyday, to my loss, and to the detriment of everything I stood for. It was a humbling experience. When I approached people in true dialogue, even if they sat in positions of power, with no vested interest to engage with me or my ideas, change became possible. Sometimes major changes occurred. Other times I suddenly realised some of these people were desperately afraid, broken or isolated. Some people were disabled in the way they had never learnt empathy, free thought or been given the love and support I take for granted in my life. (How easy it is to complain that others don’t think about society, when you speak from the position of a member of a loving family or community, or from someone with access to the life changing experience of travel, education or from being born with a natural talent for thinking outside the square. Others do not have these opportunities and their world is very narrow indeed.)

  Other people simply disagreed with me, and challenged me to my core, a process I am thankful for. Many times, it was my own judgement which stood in the way. Obviously I do not support selfish behaviour, and some people are so hardened and cause so much pain that they need external boundaries to contain the massive damage they cause, but regardless of other people’s behaviour, I am always learning how dangerous it is to become a wall builder. It is too easy to hate, way too easy. A wise friend of mine once said. “People have some choices as to how they act, but society has a responsibility too. We must look to our children, and to those isolated from community and love, or else we are responsible for bringing up psychopaths and then we reap their pain.”

  Lots of love from Ireland
  Bek

  
      — Bek · May 23, 03:26 am

• I think we should follow Jesus example and invite ourselves over to people’s houses more often! Interdependance and hospitality trumps independance and security!! That Jesus was an ideas man I tells ya ;-)

  
      — Steph · May 23, 09:05 pm