December 5: What is True Wealth?
♫ Music:
Saturday, December 5
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 8:9
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.
WHAT IS TRUE WEALTH?
Americans are obsessed with money. Now ranked by how much money students make post-graduation, universities have gone from institutions that transform students’ minds and hearts to training centers, focused on making as much money as possible. Our jobs, as emblems of wealth and prestige, have become our identities. I used to attend a church where the members regularly asked newcomers, “What do you do for a living?” Our worth is measured by our earning capacities.
However, wealth is relative. The majority of the nation’s wealth is concentrated at the top. In fact, the top 1 percent own 40 percent of our nation’s wealth while 80 percent of Americans own a tiny portion—just 7 percent. This wealth disparity also means that the working poor will never partake of the American dream.
Because we live in a culture of materialism and status, the story of the rich young man who refused to sell his worldly possessions—even to gain eternal life—still rings true today as it did in Jesus’ time. Most of us would not easily give up our material wealth. Jesus did not exaggerate when he said that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.
Yet Jesus modeled a different way of life. From a humble birth (well-captured in Krammes’ Gesu, Jewel of the Poor, a nativity scene pieced together with modest household items) to death by crucifixion, Jesus did not pursue a life of ease and luxury. He did not try to amass wealth or even political power in his brief time on earth. Rather, He was poor and surrounded Himself with other marginalized folks—challenging the status quo through His life choices.
The Bible also defines wealth in ways that counter our contemporary associations of materialism and hoarding. In Romans 2:4, riches are relational—the “riches of God’s kindness and tolerance and patience.” In Romans 10:12, riches are not exclusive, but equally accessible—the abundance of “riches for all who call on Him” who makes “no distinction between Jew and Greek for the same Lord is Lord of all.”
Ultimately, Jesus forfeited both material wealth and the glory of divinity. He epitomized compassion, justice and love—all at the greatest sacrifice of life. Only by accepting and sharing Jesus’ sacrificial love can we possess the eternal life that eluded the rich young man. This is not easy, since most of us have more in common with the rich young man, struggling to find self-worth in the world, than with Jesus. Only through daily surrender and intentionality can we use our resources in the same way Jesus did: for the sake of others. This is true wealth.
PRAYER
Christmas has become a celebration of consumption. Lord, please break us from the temptation to accumulate, and free us to serve others with our resources and compassion. Please help those struggling financially and emotionally to experience your love and hope in a tangible way today. In the name of the One who became poor for our sakes.
Amen.
Nancy Yuen, Associate Professor of Sociology
About the Artist and Art
Gesu, Jewel of the Poor
Barry Krammes
Mixed Media Assemblage
1993
Since 1983 Barry Krammes has been employed at Biola University in La Mirada, California, where he was art chairman for 15 years and is currently planning coordinator at the Center for Christianity, Culture and the Arts. For over a decade, Krammes was the editor of the CIVA SEEN Journal for Christians in the Visual Arts, a national arts organization. Krammes is an assemblage artist whose work has been featured in both solo and group exhibitions, regionally and nationally. He has also taught assemblage seminars at Image Journal's annual Glen Workshop in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In his assemblage, Gesu, Jewel of the Poor, Krammes uses chair parts to reference both the divinity and humanity of Christ, the chair representing both throne and stoop. The aesthetic sensibility of the piece suggests the rude conditions in which Christ was born.
About the Music
Composition #1
“You Who Were Rich”
Lyrics
You who were rich beyond all splendor,
All for love’s sake became poor.
Thrones for a manger did surrender,
Sapphire paved courts, for stable floor,
You who were rich beyond all splendor,
All for love’s sake became poor.
You who are God beyond all praising,
All for love’s sake became man.
Stooping so low but sinners raising
Heav’nward by your eternal plan.
You who are God beyond all praising,
All for love’s sake became man.
You who are love beyond all telling,
Savior and king we worship Thee.
Emmanuel, within us dwelling,
Make us what you would have us be.
You who are love beyond all telling,
Savior and King we worship Thee.
Amen.
About the Performer
Steve Green (b. 1956) is a Christian singer, notable for his high vocal range and flexible solo style. Over his 35-year career, Green has been honored as a four-time Grammy Award nominee and a seven-time Dove Award winner. He has released 33 albums, had 13 No. 1 songs, and sold over three million recordings. Green desires the kind of spiritual growth that J. C. Ryle describes: “When I speak of a man growing in grace, I mean simply this—that his sense of sin is becoming deeper, his faith stronger, his hope brighter, his love more extensive, his spiritual mindedness more marked.” Website: www.stevegreenministries.org
Composition #2
“Descent”
Lyrics
They sought to soar into the skies,
Those classic gods of high renown,
For lofty pride aspires to rise
But You came down.
You dropped down from the mountains sheer,
Forsook the eagle for the dove.
The other gods demanded fear,
But You gave love.
Where chiseled marble seemed to freeze
Their abstract and perfected form,
Compassion brought You to Your knees—
Your blood was warm.
They called for blood in sacrifice,
Their victims on an altar bled.
When no one else could pay the price,
You died instead.
They towered above our mortal plain,
dismissed this restless flesh with scorn.
Aloof from birth and death and pain—
But you were born.
Born to these burdens, borne by all,
Born with us all astride the grave;
Weak to be with us when we fall,
And strong to save.
About the Lyricist
Malcolm Guite (b. 1957) is a poet, author, Anglican priest, teacher, and singer-songwriter based in Cambridge, England. He has published four collections of poetry: Saying the Names, The Magic Apple Tree, Sounding the Seasons: Poetry for the Christian Year, and The Singing Bowl. His writing has been acclaimed by Rowan Williams and Luci Shaw, and his Antiphons appeared in Penguin’s Best Spiritual Writing 2013. Guite’s theological works include What Do Christians Believe? and Faith, Hope, and Poetry: Theology and the Poetic Imagination. He is a scholar of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and the British poets and serves as Bye-Fellow and chaplain at Girton College at the University Cambridge, supervising students in English and Theology and lecturing widely in England and America. Guite plays in the Cambridge rock band Mystery Train, whose albums include The Green Man and Dancing through the Fire.
Website: www.malcolmguite.wordpress.com
About the Composer/Performer
Steve Bell has been called a “songwriter, storyteller, and troubadour for our time.” This Canadian musician uses artful word and song to encourage Christian faith and thoughtful living. Bell has been performing and touring since he was eight years old. Since Steve’s father was a prison chaplain, it was federal prisoners at Drumheller Penitentiary in Alberta who taught the young boy to play guitar. Mr. Bell has released 18 albums including two Christmas albums. In addition, Bell has earned numerous awards including two JUNO Awards and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.
Website: www.stevebell.com