Category Archives: economy of self-gift

Thoughts on the Sunday readings: God’s Strange Economics (Twenty-Third Sunday, A)

06 Saturday Sep 2014

Posted by in 23rd Sunday (A), debt of love, economy of self-gift, God's love, sacrifice

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The Catholic writer and speaker Fr. Robert Barron begins a session in one of his video series by stating, “You are not necessary!  Neither you nor I are necessary!”  I have often thought that this would make for an ironic hallmark card.  On the front cover – “You are not necessary!” – and inside – “Have a nice day!”  But Fr. Barron is not being flippant in this; rather he is stating an important spiritual truth.  None of us, none of creation, everything that we see and discover around us – none of it is necessary.  All of it continually flows from God.  God alone is the one necessary; everything else from the largest galaxy to most finite speck of dust is dependent upon God and therefore not necessary. 
Whoa … this is heavy and it can quickly weigh heavy on one’s mind and life.  If all is dependent upon God then what happens if I really, really make him mad?  Does he need to be appeased?  Do I need to do absolutely correct every little thing that I think God wants done?  God seems then to be opposed to my thriving.  God, who alone is necessary, almost seems to be in competition with my freedom. 
This would be valid (Fr. Barron continues) were it not for one thing; “God is love,” writes St. John.  God is not the biggest unnecessary thing among other unnecessary things.  God is not the biggest part of creation among other parts of creation.  If these were indeed the case then yes, God’s presence would necessarily hinder my freedom, my thriving.  One limited thing always hinders, always limits another limited thing.  God is not one thing among other things; God is the source of all things and this source is love!  The presence of God in a person’s life does not hinder one’s freedom nor does the presence of God compete with one’s thriving because there is no competition! 
The quicker we learn this truth the better for us and the more easily we begin to grasp God’s economics.
No one likes debt.  I know that I don’t.  We want to be free of debt.  We work our whole lives to pay off debts – house, car, college – that we might one day be finally free of the weight of any debt.  In God’s economics there is a debt that we all carry, it can never be paid off and instead of denying life it brings life.  St. Paul, in his Letter to the Romans (Rom. 13:8-10) writes these words, “Brothers and sisters, owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.”  We are all bound by the debt of love for one another, love for the stranger and even love for the enemy.  What a strange economics where debt brings life but when we live the debt of love then we, who are not necessary, participate in that which is necessary – the very nature and life of God!  
There is another component to the strange economics of God.  In this strange economics sacrifice displays wealth.  In God’s economics a large house, the latest gadgets, big toys (things which are not bad in and of themselves) are not the primary signs of success and wealth.  The surest sign of wealth in God’s economics is the willingness to sacrifice, the willingness to let go of self.  Authentic sacrifice is rooted in love for the other.  Parents sacrifice unreservedly for their children then, near the end of the journey of life, children have the opportunity to sacrifice unreservedly in love for their parents.  It may not appear on the cover of Fortune 500 but, in God’s economics, the surest display of wealth is sacrifice.  
The prophet Ezekiel tells us that we are to be watchmen (and women).  Part of being a watchman or woman in our day and age is to set our lives by God’s economics.  I think our Lord in today’s gospel (Mt. 18:15-20) invites us to carry this economics even into our dealings with one another in community and in family.  In God’s strange economics we all carry the debt of love and sacrifice witnesses to wealth. 

The Holy Trinity and the economy of self-gift

26 Sunday May 2013

Posted by in economy of consumption, economy of self-gift, Holy Trinity

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Icon of the Holy Trinity by Andrei Rublev

In reflecting on the deep and abiding mystery of the Trinity, some of the truths that we are brought to is that communion with others is always possible, that this communion is necessary and that it is free, although it does take work.  Communion is always possible because the very Creator of all is a communion of persons – eternally abiding in love and self-giving.  This should not be written off as a nice, superficial thought but rather it should be recognized for what it is – a fundamental anthropological and societal truth that does make authentic and abiding claims on life and reality.  Communion is always necessary because without it we are less.  We are not meant to live isolated lives.  Communion is free and this is much to chagrin of the market-place and the economy of consumption.     

Many voices in our time proclaim the opposite.  “Be a self-made man or woman!”  “Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps!”  “It is you against the world.”  “Fear the other and set up walls to protect and keep out!”  This thought has even found its way into the sphere of Christianity in the emphasizing of a “Jesus and I” approach to faith.  Church and community is nice but it is not really all that necessary.  Now it seems that even the acknowledgement afforded by history to the unique status and communion of marriage and family is being discarded as dynamics in contemporary society seek to reshape family more in terms of what “I want” and “my right” rather than in the life-giving reality of self-gift as laid out in the basic biological blueprint of creation itself.  All this leads to an increasingly isolated existence which plays to the benefit of an economy of consumption.

My personal theory is that we are now living in a time when it is the economy with all the pressures at its disposal attempting to shape us in its image rather than us shaping the economy in our image.  To wit – an isolated, self-focused individual trained to view reality through the prism of “I want” is potentially a much better consumer than one who is connected with other people in life-giving ways that are beyond the power of the market-place (i.e. family and individuals living authentic and honest relationships).  

The economy of consumption wants an upgrade to family and existence in general.  A “2.0 family” as it were.  Family defined by self-gift and sacrifice is no longer good enough.  Family defined by want and individuals who are increasingly isolated is now what is needed to keep the economy humming!

In the Holy Trinity we are shown a different economy – not an economy of consumption but an economy of self-gift and we find it revealed that this economy is not only at the foundation of all creation but is the source, itself, of all creation and life. 

Jesus said to his disciples: “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.  But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth.  He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming.  He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.  Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.”  (Jn. 16:12-15)

Notice how the three Persons of the Trinity freely receive from one another and freely give to one another.  Notice how this gift of self does not diminish each of the Divine Persons in uniqueness but actually fulfills each of the Persons.  The Father is not lessened by the Son receiving all the Father has to offer nor are the Father and Son diminished by the Spirit taking what they offer one another and declaring it to us.  Self-gift does not need to be feared because it leads to the fulfillment of personhood and life and not to a loss of self!

St Paul in his Letter to Romans reflects on what this all means to us who have been caught up into this very mystery of God’s own existence by God’s sheer gift of grace.  Brothers and sisters: Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith to this grace in which we stand and we boast in hope of the glory of God.  Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions, know that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. (Rom. 5:1-5) 

As Christians, we strive for the truth of being, even when we fail individually and communally we still strive by God’s grace.  The economy of consumption is not our economy.  We are meant for so much more!  Peace … Endurance … Proven Character … Hope … Love of God.  

These are all the gifts of the economy of self-gift.  
Not a bad list, when you think about it.