human bits

I saw a quote from Bono the other day and it set me thinking. The quote – which was linked to an article about forgivness of third world debt – read in part

What’s up on trial here is Christianity itself. … The church is going to have to become the conscience of the free market if it’s to have any meaning in this world – and stop being its apologist.

 As I read I was thinking about the current G8 proposals to forgive the debt of some third world countires. Many Christians have worked long and hard for this to happen. As we stand on the verge of a great step in the right direction, there is a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that we may just be watching evil achieve a tripple whammy under our very noses. The devil is – as they say – in the details. Much of the funding which lead to debt did little to help the poor and much to help the rich in both donor and recipient countries. Much of the debt relief will have strict conditions attached to it which will massively benefit the rich over the poor. Much of the cost of debt forgivness will come not from the pockets of the rich who have benefited but from the ordinary working poor. How do we get to a situation like this – where it seems that even our best efforts are fatally flawed. Where is the voice that speaks counter to the strange mixture of confusion, self-congratulation and apathy that dulls our collective conscience?

Jesus expected his followers to be salt and light in the world – a ‘moral preservative’ and a clear sign of good that was impossible not to notice. But he also said that salt which lost its saltiness was worthless and would be thrown out and trampled underfoot! How does salt become unsalty? Well I guess it can become so absorbed into or diluted by the thing that it is meant to preserve and flavour that it no longer has any effect. It becomes no longer detectable as salt. Is that where we are at now? Is there enough noticable difference between us and the culture around us?

One thing is for sure: Jesus would stand out. Just look at the accounts of his life to see how. It is not his miracles that stand out most – not the ‘superman’ factor. If anything Jesus constantly played that down. It is the very core of Jesus’ life that was different. The centre of gravity of Jesus’ life was not that of other men; and the way he lived, every breath he took, how he related to others and the way he expected others to live showed it constantly.

I don’t think Jesus ever intended that following him should be part of normal life. Everyday life yes, but not normal life. If you want a normal life, don’t follow Jesus. If you like the world the way it is and just want more of the same, don’t follow Jesus. If you like the way you are in yourself and don’t want to change, don’t follow Jesus. Following Jesus does not actually work in normal life! It isn’t mean to. Jesus called men and women out of normal life into something completely different.

But if you choose normal life, don’t expect it to last. In the words of Bruce Cockburn – ‘the trouble with normal is it always gets worse’. Without the purifying salt, decay sets in. And then the very things which should nourish us become a rotting revolting poisonous mess.

Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone wants to follow in my footsteps he must give up all right to himself, take up his cross and follow me. For the man who wants to save his life will lose it; but the man who loses his life for my sake will find it. For what good is it for a man to gain the whole world at the price of his own soul? What could a man offer to buy back his soul once he had lost it?" (Matthew 16:24)