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October 13, 2018
It is difficult to separate material well-being and happiness. Here is something interesting; one in eleven Americans pay almost $100 a month for a self-storage locker. Self-storage is, however, like your garage; once you move something into self-storage it rarely makes it back into the house. According to SpareFoot, a company that tracks the self-storage industry, the United States boasts more than 50,000 self-storage facilities with roughly 2.311 billion square feet of rentable space. The volume of self-storage units in the country could fill the Hoover Dam with old clothing, skis, and keepsakes more than 26 times. We have a lot of junk.
Americans and Self-Storage Lockers
In one article I read, a representative of the National Association of Professional Organizers said that the reason most people have so much junk in so many expensive self-storage lockers is that they can’t make a decision. You spent your hard earned money, or your parents’ hard earned money, on valuable stuff that you don’t use but can’t throw away. The top ten things people put into self-storage are old records or cds, clothing, books, old appliances, clothing, toys, baby items, old furniture, old paperwork and holiday decorations. In the gospel today, the man that approached Jesus had a lot of self-storage lockers. Did he walk away from Jesus because he might actually want to listen to his John Denver album again or could he just not make a decision and move on?
The Rich Young Man and Jesus
So, this rich, young man comes to see Jesus. Actually, he is a good guy. He has kept the commandments. He hasn’t murdered anyone, he hasn’t seduced another man’s wife, or stolen his mule. He hasn’t lied or disrespected his parents. He is a human being that you can trust around your home. That is a good thing. In fact the scriptures say that Jesus loved him. But, he wasn’t satisfied. Wasn’t there something else to life?
Could he not face cleaning out his garage and emptying his storage locker?Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him,
"You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. Mt. 5
Perfection and Mediocrity
Perfection is the simplest thing in the world. Perfection is just being who God made you to be. It is being your true self in God’s presence. Mediocrity is being half-way there. The Latin root for mediocrity is media (which means “middle”) and ocris (which means “mountain”). Literally, mediocre means ‘halfway up the mountain.’ You are mediocre if you swim half-way across the English Channel. The story appears in the obituary section of your newspaper. You are famous for always running half-way to the end zone. You are half-way to being a famous criminal defense attorney. You have mastered the criminal part. Now you have to go to law school. The rich young man is half-way to being himself. He will never make it unless he can cut lose from all of his junk.
What kind of person does God want?
The rich young man is like each of us. Probably, we are not horrible people; we are not unrepentant murderers, abusers and thieves. We are basically good. Still, he wants something more; he wants Jesus to respond to the deepest longing of his heart. That longing can only be filled by becoming another Christ. Jesus calls us to take our place in the story God is writing. There is only one supreme Character in that story. That person has his eye on a goal and shapes his own life, and those of his followers, in relation to that goal. Perfection is not a mathematical formula, but to live your life in relationship with the Son of God.
You have to be able to make a decision!
What is the point of being a mediocre Christian? People’s lives are full of junk because they can’t make a decision. They can’t leave the past or their ‘stuff’ behind. Happiness is, it would seem, only for a particular kind of person. A person who can make a radical decision and make a move. Mediocrity is to live your whole life with one foot in heaven and one foot somewhere else. St. Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live by in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me. Gal. 2:20. If that sounds radical to you, then draw the reasonable conclusion. To be yourself is to serve as Christ served.
Howard Washington ThurmanAn African-American author, philosopher, theologian, educator, and civil rights leader. He was an advocate for social justice in the twentieth century. Thurman's theology of nonviolence shaped civil rights activists, and he was a key mentor to leaders within the movement, including Martin Luther King, Jr. Thurman served as dean of Rankin Chapel at Howard University from 1932 to 1944 and as dean of Marsh Chapel at Boston University from 1953 to 1965. In 1944, he co-founded, along with Alfred Fisk the first major interracial, interdenominational church in the United States. Howard Thurman died on April 10, 1981 in San Francisco, California. He wrote the following poem about letting go of stuff.
(November 18, 1899 –
April 10, 1981)I Let Go of My Accumulations
My ego is like a fortress.
I have built its walls
stone by stone
to hold out the invasion
of the love of God.
But I have stayed here long
enough. There is light,
over the barriers, Oh my God.
The darkness of my house
forgive
and overtake my soul.
I relax the barriers.
I abandon all that I think I am,
all I hope to be
all that I believe I possess.
I let go of the past,
I withdraw my grasping hand
from the future,
and in the great silence of this moment,
I alertly rest my soul.
As the sea gull lays in the wind current,
so I lay into the spirit of God,
my dearest human relationships,
my most precious dreams.
I surrender to His care all that I have called my own.
I give back
all my favorite things
which I withhold in my storehouse.
I let go.
I give myself unto thee
O my God.
Amen.
--Howard Thurman
