Exorcism: Hunting Daemons in Lent: 2 – bread- the subtle test of consumption

Exorcism: Hunting Daemons in Lent: 2 – bread- the subtle test of consumption

by | Mar 5, 2023 | Christianity Blog

Important qualifications:

  1. I use YHWH (YHWH) because it saves me from calling YHWH by any male/female pronoun.  I am also a cousin to YHWH’s people and so a better respect for YHWH is due.
  2. This text, like the others, are works in progress.  If someone writes to let me know of a misspelled word etc or some other grammar-like possible correction necessary, i will change it.  I will do the same if I find or am told that there is a logical problem within the context of the argument.
  3. There are footnotes to these texts, for further reading or from which direct quotes were derived.

Last week the writers of the Gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke invited us to walk for a time in the desert, a place where we could unpack our baggage and struggle with our personal daemons. Times of testing are varied in their kinds and their severity, depending upon the individual. The three temptations of Jesus in the desert are universal and very human opportunities (or daemonic curses) through which we confront our humanity, as did Jesus. Most of our private temptations or daemons connect with these three central temptations. In this reflection we will examine the first, the temptation or testing by bread.

Matthew and Luke stated this temptation in the same way. Jesus’ daemon challenges him to make stones into bread, in order to survive. The author of the Gospel has Jesus quote a part of Deuteronomy (8:3): “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

The author of Deuteronomy reminds the people that YHWH led them through the desert for forty years, “in order to humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart… he let you hunger to understand that one does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” YHWH used suffering in the desert to teach or discipline the people. And so the authors of the Gospels have Jesus go into the desert for forty days, following a similar path and, like them, learn discipline through (inevitable) suffering.

What is the test or temptation here? The temptation is to believe that bread is enough, that what we have is not only sufficient for all our needs but that that assumption is proper as the sum of human existence. To put it in a modern way: the temptation here is to believe that we are only animals that consume, that we are mere mall rats, that we are nothing more or less than servants (slaves?) or units or cogs in the market of goods and services. For our society, this temptation is not a temptation: it is a fact. Those who benefit from the dictates of the market assume that you and I are units of a consumer society and that ‘bread and circuses’, food and entertainment, we keep us pacified. We will ignore the bigger and more important issues.

The circus or entertainment-in-order-to-numb(1) us into lethargy about anything significant exists in most TV programs. Will they, do they, inform us of reality or are we numbed from reality? They entertain us at a base and banal level. As we watch, we consume (or are we consumed?). Is this all we are to live for, all for what we exist? If the result is numbness in the mental and spiritual limbs, then some other purpose is being served than our benefit.

A few other statements from our culture that underscores this reality of bread and circuses:

Time Magazine (2005)[2] published a passionate discussion about evolution and the belief of some that the Genesis story of the world’s creation is a literal, even scientific description of that event. In subsequent issues of the magazine the inevitable letters-to-the-editor arrived. Among them was this one: “Anyone who thinks that there is only one kind of Homo Sapiens on this planet has never shopped at Walmart!” Though humorous, it points at our culture’s love (passionate intensity or lust) for shopping, our being defined as consumers, buyers and sellers.

Another quote that reflects this bread and circuses theme. At the turn of the twentieth century a baron of industry in the United States was asked: “when will you have enough money?” This chap said: “after the next dollar.”(3)

A few pithy sayings from our culture: “Let us eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we may die.” “More is better.” “Greed is good.” And one of my favourites: “Life is a race; he or she who has the most toys at the end, wins.”

Of the three temptations in the story of Jesus in the desert this one, of bread, is the subtlest. It is so because we need to be consumers. Food, clothing, and houses are things we need to buy. As well, we must invest, plan for retirement. To keep our economy healthy, we need to consume. Yet quietly, and with our most peaceful acquiescence we give in to the assumption that we are only an animal that consumes; nothing less, nothing more.

Our economic system has moved from what Italian economist Pier Luigi Sacco said was once an economy of necessity versus an economy of desire.(4) This assumption that we ‘buy, therefore we exist’ is so subtle that unless we step back from our whole life and start examining it piece by piece, we will never see how much the market controls and dictates to us our desires and even our needs rather than us seeing the market as a useful tool or a means to an end.(5)

The authors of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke have Jesus speak about this issue of being a consumer and being a spiritual creature. We are both, yet in our role as a consuming animal we often neglect our spirits or souls. Matthew’s Jesus says it interestingly. He says that we must not worry about such things as clothing, housing, food and so forth. This is exaggeration of course. We must worry or think about such things to a certain point. The issue is: do not worry about it. If you do, the worry will consume you and then all that is left you is your animal instinct, your nature as a consuming animal. The weightier matters of the soul or the spirit, says Matthew’s Jesus, are more important. Why? Because who you are or who you are becoming is more important than what you have.

Our culture is not the only one of course that struggles with the difficulty of being both creatures that consume and creatures that, as the Judeo-Christian tradition puts it, made in the image of God. Our culture in North America and the rest of the West, which consumes the vast majority of the world’s goods, is like 17th century Holland. It too was a time when opportunity to amass great wealth and possessions was a key goal for most people. Holland was on the cusp of radical change. Its citizens had a love for the shopping bag and had become a society that saw itself as a market for buyers and sellers. There were some, however, who had seen more deeply into the roots and reality of the situation, recognized it for what it was and put things into perspective. These artists thried during the Dutch Golden Age.(6) They painted wonderful scenes of flowers in vases, of dining room scenes as if the diners had left the table a few moments before.

When one sees these paintings for the first tim, their beauty and precision are captivating. But as one admires and examines them more closely, one notices a few odd bits and pieces. One might notice a bug, cockroach, ant or centipede or fly on the flowers, the table, or frozen in flight. One might notice that certain flowers are quite dead and dripping its leaves, caught at that precise moment between being dead and the whispy last colours and vitality of life yet remains.

Their point; yes, life is beautiful and wondrous and having things beyond what we need and enjoying the wealth that we have is akin to being among the blessed, but all of it will come to an end. Everything we have, possessions, children, everything, are loaners. Things decay, decompose and go the way of the natural world. ‘You are dust and to dust you shall return’, the Ash Wednesday service reminds us (cf. Genesis 3:19b). These paintings were both a protest and a critique; that life is more than about buying and selling. They would agree that human beings are not mere consumers, intelligent animals with inexhaustible desire for more (cf. Philippians 3:19). If we are not mere animals with enormous bellies, consumers driven like cattle before the holy financial market of our time, then what are we?

Deuteronomy’s author wrote, “human beings do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of YHWH.” You are not only a creature that consumes; you are more than that. You are also a creature of YHWH. You are a creature that exists between heaven and earth, a mixture of biology and intellect/spirit/soul, whatever name you wish to give to the essence within us that enables us to know that we are both finite biological creatures and creatures that ‘know that they know’ and wonder about eternity and the sometimes almost painful and startling beauty that surrounds us but which we can never possess.

We are creatures, also, which fight a battle between higher values and responsibilities and lower ones. We are animated stardust; creatures of earth, atoms, chemicals and water, and yet we are more precious to YHWH than anything we can possess or purchase. Human beings are, in YHWH’s estimation, of infinite value. To cheapen such existence through calculation only of purchasing power, or how much we have/earn or are worth (our net asset value) is to cheapen our worth.

This is the first ubiquitous human temptation. In it we can find a few of our own daemons buried somewhere in our baggage. One of those daemons is idol worship: the idol of the thing possessed and of the ability to possess or buy a thing and above all else the value that we place on the things. At its worst, succumbing to this temptation leads to an anti-god, anti-faith point of view because we become self-centered and resent anyone questioning the current prime value of being able to buy whatever we would like, whenever we like, regardless of the cost to others or the planet.(7) Struggling with this testing leads us to question the values of our culture and to consider another claim to truth: that we are called to higher value, a value that we find in our relationships with YHWH and with our neighbors. We are a union of soul and body, spirit and flesh; to neglect either is to stunt both.

As you continue to walk the path of the desert during these weeks of Lent, following Jesus’ own journey, consider your participation in the market’s life. Is it a tool to be used for the benefit of everyone, including your own? Do you wish to be ruled by a tool? Does it rule you, or do you walk your own path? Are you an animal with a belly or an animal also with a soul?

 

(1) See Neil Postman, Amusing ourselves to death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business (New York: Penguin Books, 1985).

(2) Various authors, ‘The Evolution Wars,’ Time Magazine, August 5, 2005. See on the Web also: http://content.time.com/time/magazine/0,9263,7601050815,00.html.

(3 This was probably J. Paul Getty, who also said: “If you can count your money, you are not rich.” Another candidate for the quote is John D. Rockefeller who said: “I believe the ability to make money is a gift from God.” George W. Bush once said to a group of some of the wealthiest individuals in the U.S: “This is an impressive crowd; the have’s, and the have-mores. Some call you the elite; I call you my base.” On the Web at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mn4daYJzyls.

(4) Sacco taught ‘economics of culture’ in Venice, Italy and was in conversation with commentator Avi Lewis on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Ideas program, ‘Economics and Social Justice’. Toronto CBC Radio one, 2006. On the Web at http://library.avemaria.edu/title/economics-social-justice/oclc/265222891.

(5) This is not to say that the corporations which are the chief architects of the market as we know it today are all ‘evil’. See Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras, Built to last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies (HarperBusiness, 1994). Alternatively, see Wade Rowland, Greed Inc., Why Corporations Rule Our World (Arcade, 2006) and John Pilger, The New Rulers of the World (London/New York; Verso, 2002).

(6) See for example Balthasar van der Ast (1593-1657), c. 1629, Still life of Flowers, Fruit, Shells and Insects, [med], institution; Pieter Claesz (1597-1660), c. 1625, Vanitas, [, Willem Claesz Heda, (1593/94-1680), c.1635, Banquet Piece with Mince Pie, [ and c. 1645 Breakfast Still Life with Blackberry Pie, [, Abraham Mignon (1640-1679), c.1675, Still Life with Fruit, Fish and a Nest, [, Jan Davidsz de Heem, (1606-1683/84), c. 1660, Vase of Flowers [, . Wendy Beckett, SNDdeN, with contributing consultant Patrica Wright, The Story of Painting: The essential guide to the history of Western Art (Toronto/Boston/New York/London: Little Brown in association with the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., 1994), 206. See Madlyn Millner Kahr, Dutch Painting in the seventeenth century, second ed. (New York: Harper-Collins Publishers Inc.,1993, 1st published in 1978), 198 and E. De Jongh, Questions of Meaning: Theme and motif in Dutch Seventeenth-Century Painting, trans., and edited by Michael Hoyle (Leiden: Primavera Pers, 2000), 130-148. An early 21st century brilliant musical composition by the Swedish band, Kent, upon their ceasing as a band is Då Som Nu För Alltid. (“Then as now for always -or former), in which Death pounds a drum beat as a huge crowd and varius living creatures follow on a march. Production company: INDIO, Director: Adam Berg, DoP: Mattias Montero.

(7) An excellent example of this writ large is Leopold II and his turning the Congo into his private company town, the repercussions of which continue. See Adam Hochschild, King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa (Houghton/Mifflin Harcourt, 1997). 

Exorcism: Hunting Daemons in Lent: 2 – bread- the subtle test of consumption

ash wednesday

by | Feb 22, 2023 | Christianity Blog

Ash Wednesday is the start of the Christian tradition of Lent, which lasts for forty days, ending on Easter Sunday (this year, April 9).

Lent is for hunting demons.  Yours.

Every faith tradition has something like Lent.  And each of them are similar in what they offer to humans.  I mean these traditions are not meant to wholly and exclusively focus on one’s sins (read: moral failures, errors the result of which cause harm).  I mean such traditions are meant to help a human being, not to bemoan their sins or wear hair shirts, but learn about their humanity, and improve.

They encourage us during the 40 days to ask ourselves questions:  1)  Paul Gauguin:  “Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?”  These questions one can ask when thinking about humanity (and G_d knows of late we need to be asking them).  But for lent it is appropriate to ask them of ourselves.  2) Hillel the Elder: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am not for others, what am I? And if not now, when?”  Other questions might be similar but more personal:  Who am I?  What makes me happy?  How do I maintain a moral stance in a world where the line and the balance between what is good and humane versus what is not? Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labour on what does not satisfy? (Isaiah 55:1).

We also ask questions of G_d.  Does G_d exist?  How can I know for sure?  How can a good G_d exist with so much harm happening in the world?  If I were to commit myself in trust (not ‘faith’ as in credenda)  to G_d, how do I do that?  If I do that, how will it help me answer all these other questions?  Regarding Christianity, on what basis would I trust myself to God in any of the institutions known as churches at this point in history?

Participation in Lent is a starting point, to add to or development a practice that can help us address (or scream at, or think about, or share about) some of those questions above.  Or perhaps just one, whatever one thinks is the most important.  One adds or subtracts activities during those 40 days.  Add or subtract  food or drink, read a book or two or more that challenges our perception of ourselves and the world, gather for sacred meals with others who are of a similar disposition.

One thing I have learned in walking this road of 40 miles (days) is that i have to work at being committed to whatever I feel I need to do, but also have compassion for myself when I fall down (as long as it does not turn into narcissism) .  The second most important thing I have learned is that I have to learn to have compassion for others at the same time.  I imagine the journey to be walking the El Camino.  One is alone walking the dusty road, heavy loads on the back and in thee ind or heart, imminent sore parts of the body, the weight of a conscience perhaps and then sometimes we walk with others for a time, share a meal, learn kindness and generosity but still trust that this walk is not only worth it, but necessary.

But one has to know that this journey, travelled with integrity, commitment and a trust in the spiritual nature of the work, one never knows what will come up or out of our minds or memories.  After all these years, it may be ancient feelings of hurt or shame. Guilt over something we didn’t feel guilty about  before, but now that we have grown a little, we have become conscious of it is another feeling.  We may find there is a good deal more work for us to do, beyond this year’s lent.  Whatever we might call these things that arise, I call them demons.  I believe and have complete faith that demons exist.  They are not the ones you are thinking of; it is not a personal devil or demon or a dude named ‘satan’, but they are real.  And they are ours, and ours alone; it is they that claw their way into our soul and hearts and minds, invited in by ourselves or let in by others.

This is the genuine work of Lent: to hunt our demons, root them out and find a place to put them so we know where they are.  And never forget.  The threat is that we start out well but then get nervous or afraid or angry and we take a byway off the road, throw our burdened backpack into a closet and lock it all away again, this time forever.  Be warned:  this journey, this work, is serious stuff.  It is hard work.  If one continues to the end, they can be healthier, saner, less anxious.  Not perfect or ‘done’, but more human and more humane to others.

Over the course of the next 40 days I will add a piece each week to this blog.  I am doing this because i need to be reminded again about what I am doing, about my struggle with trust, about this journey and answering questions. These submissions will be based upon a text from the Abramic Codicil (the scriptures of the Christians) that is read on the first Sunday of Lent (Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-12-Mark has a much shorter version).

These texts are about Jesus, as a human being.  He faced the same demons and temptations as do we.  through this story over the next few weeks, we will explore our psychic, spiritual and mental realities of our humanity, not about Jesus as divine or his story.  This story is about the human beings who read and ponder these texts.  They can be a guide and a help.

***

Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the tempter** He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was hungry. The tempter came and said, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But Jesus answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”

Then the tempter took him to the holy city, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,  ‘He will give his angels charge of you,’  and. ‘On their hands they will bear you up,  lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’” The tempter took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and the tempter said, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”  Jesus said to him, “Begone, tempter! for it is written,  ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”

The tempter left him, and behold, angels came and ministered to him.

 

**The author of Matt’s Gospel uses two terms in greek for the being (five times) that meets Jesus in the desert: ‘satan’ and ‘diabolos’ Translators have used  ‘devil’ or tempter for the latter. ‘Satan’ was a specific but quite obscure figure with the same kind of role. Four of the times written were diabolos. Why the writer chose to use ‘satan’ for the last  is odd because both words have to do with literally someone who, “casts through,” i.e. making charges that bring down,” (destroy), to slander, accuse with a vengeance.  Diabolos was turned into ‘devil’ centuries later.  Think of an unscrupulous or nasty lawyer in a courtroom who has been paid off to get a conviction when you see the word ‘devil’ (diabolos).  Jesus is being tempted, not threatened with fire and damnation.

 

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sin of the religious corporation called ‘church’

by | Jan 25, 2023 | Christianity Blog

Yet another, to date, unknown residential school  grave yard of aboriginal children.  There will be more.  Like all nations and faith systems (corporate religion), Christianity has its sins to bear but how does it bear them?

What is sin?  The churches (all denominations including protestant, eastern and roman catholic) have tended to consider as ‘among the greatest of sins’ anything related to chastity, when chastity is ignored or broken.

  1. Yet, until quite recently churches have mostly protected clergy and lay people from outside  inquiry or law who break rules around chastity .  Even now, some persons  in special cases (who have a name, a position or influence) are protected from public view or private censure.
  2. Such persons fight to maintain their innocence rather than (if indeed guilty) confess their sin to their superior and go through a process of repentance.  What occurs for them outside the church’s sphere is not the church’s problem.
  3. If a person in a church who does not have a known name, an important position or influence) are usually thrown under the ecclesiastical bus.
  4. The churches deign to judge as sinners those who are weakest.
  5. And churches tend to overemphasize good and just actions by some individuals and some policies as descriptive of the whole.  When policies and some individuals do  cause harm, they deny any connection to the whole or obfuscate the matter through evasion or corporate ignorance or fighting civil law.

What is ‘sin’?  Sin, as one definition puts it, is  ‘an immoral act or transgression of divine law’. What all the churches agree upon is that acts of ‘chesed’ (love) are the most important of divine law, the most important commandments.

The church will not apply this definition to its corporate bodies.  The the activities of members of the corporation in maintaining the residential school system that have caused enormous harm and ongoing suffering for aboriginal people.  No other word for what happened is more important as a descriptor than ‘sin’.  Until the churches can apply the definition to individuals within the corporate structure and to the structure itself that continue after each individual passes on, then the corporate structure will remain a corporation m and not the Body of Messiah (Christ) and it ill continue to ignore, obfuscate and blame others for its failure of Christian conscience.