ben's blog

Enough Already!! A book review, sort of

This is a semi-review of a book I got in the mail recently.

The book is Enough: Contentment in an Age of Excess, and in it, Will Samson adds his voice to an ever-growing number of books addressing the issue of consumerism in Western society. It seems to be the topic du jour, and probably for good reason. It is a good thing when Christians begin to think theologically and critically about the cultural milieu they find themselves in, and more and more people are realizing that consumerism is the predominant cultural force in the Western world today. Samson's topic is also of personal interest to me, in that I recently wrote an essay on consumerism for the Master's degree I'm working on.

Toward a blurred mine/yours line

"When we consume the Eucharist, we become one with others and share their fate."
- William Cavanaugh, Being Consumed, 95.

 It is tempting in our culture to see most of what happens in churches as "spiritual commodities" that are served to individuals seeking some kind of spiritual need met. They need to be a better parent, so they go to a church that's doing a series on parenting. They need some spice in their love life, so they go to one of the churches that's doing a series on sex for married couples. Even the Eucharist can be thought of as a kind of spiritual resource we offer for the benefit of individuals.

But the truth is actually much more liberating and disturbing, in that what seems to be happening is the the line between what's mine and what's yours is blurred, and possibly even destroyed, when I consume the Eucharist with you. As we eat the bread and drink the wine we are not only fed, but "taken up into Christ," and we become food for others. We are the body of Christ at the table, different parts, but one body.

When you eat lunch, the food you consume benefits your whole body. You do not take individual bites for different body parts ("Half a sandwich for the right leg, bite of tuna salad for the brain..."), but the whole meal benefits the whole body - there are no lines between what belongs to the eye and what belongs to the ear.

Likewise when we worship together and consume the Eucharist together, there are no lines between what belongs to me and what belongs to you. This seems to me to have radical implications for how we think about and use our money and possessions, don't you think?

"If we are identified with Christ, who identifies himself with the suffering of all, then what is called for is more than just charity. The very distinction between what is mine and what is yours breaks down in the body of Christ. We are not to consider ourselves as absolute owners of our stuff, who then occasionally graciously bestow charity on the less fortunate. In the body of Christ, your pain is my pain, and my stuff is available to be communicated to you in your need."

- William Cavanaugh, Being Consumed, 56.

A sure sign you're serving mammon

Luke drums in my brother's band. He also draws pretty funny comics on this site. This one made me laugh today:

It looks like what certain cable news channels are doing during this economic whatever-we're-supposed-to-call-it. The strategy seems to be:

1. Bring in the most extreme economic doomsday forecasters
2. Practice unabashed fear-mongering to boost ratings (people love to have their fear mongered)
3. Rake in the advertising bucks!

I'm just sayin'.