INTERCONNECTIVITY: Easter and the Justice of God – Living More with Less
“Living More with Less”
Today, VJN kicks off a series of reflections we are calling “Easter and the Justice of God” that will lead up to Easter. We’ve asked some friends, in light of Easter, to reflect on Jesus, Suffering, Resurrection, Justice, Peacemaking Discipleship and Reconciliation. To start us off, we’ve asked Andy Wood from Canada to reflect on “costly living.”
The world around us always seems to want more, but gives less in return. It may be your schedule demanding more from you. Perhaps there are debtors clamoring to be paid. Maybe there are situations, people or issues in your life that require a lot of energy and, quite simply, you are drained. Alternately, it may be one of the “stories” our societies tell us – like the script that says the more money we have, the happier we will be – or the more we exercise, the more desirable we will be – or the more we drink, the easier it will be to forget. The more we give to these various appetites, the less we get in return. Like the junkie whose addiction demands more and more only to get a diminishing high, we generally get less from giving more to these demands.
Our garbage dumps share a similar story. They tell us that our societies are addicted to anything and everything new. North Americans produce more trash per person than any other population on earth. One of the contributing factors to this is our love of all things new – whether it’s the latest electronic gadget, newest toy, exercise outfit or coffee maker. Our landfills record the story of what’s old and the plastic packaging of what’s new. New stuff isn’t the only way we get our kicks. Some of us are junkies for new adventures, new experiences, new tastes, or new looks. The quest for more is endless but always leaves us with less.
The Kingdom of God shows another way. The more we give ourselves to our Father and his Kingdom, the less we need all that other clutter. It’s not that those things are necessarily malicious. Rather, when we look to them to fill us, they end up doing the opposite. All the other stuff, even the good stuff, can make us numb to his presence instead of giving us life. Perhaps God is calling us to reorient our lives around his Kingdom of more with less.
You may ask what this article is doing on a justice blog, particularly in this time leading up to Easter? The answer is, everything! Perhaps you’re like me and when you think about Lent, images of suffering, discipline, pain, and self-denial flash across your mind. For many, the end goal of Lent has been lost to its activities. Like one who loses the forest for the trees, too often we see only the lack in this season, and miss the more.
More Savouring
In A Spirituality of Subtraction, Richard Rohr says the soul is not fed by adding things but by subtracting them. He’s describing the way of more with less. We don’t often think of doing with less as revelry, but that’s exactly what God is calling us to. As we dislodge our usual comforts, we are given an opportunity to savour the small, simple, and seemingly insignificant things.
The ancient Celts said, “The one to whom little is not enough will not benefit from more.” They understood something about simplicity. Subtraction is about laying ourselves bare before the Lord. In fact, Jesus said that we must give up all our possessions to follow him (Luke 18) – that’s very bare, but when we do it, we experience more.
More Celebration
Living more with less is also demonstrated in the mustard seed (Mt 13). Most people look at a mustard seed and don’t see much. But when we’re living in a more with less perspective, we can look beyond what is immediately apparent to see the fruitful plant it may one day become. This posture leads us to celebrate what is present instead of grasping for what we lack. It sees us letting go with one hand while receiving with the other. It is a mindset that allows us to revel in God’s presence wherever we see him and leaves us living with a festive sense of enough in the Kingdom of endless possibilities.
Like the Hebrews who collected enough Manna for today, and like the disciples who were instructed to pray for their daily bread, living more with less means not only savouring what’s all around us, but embracing contentment, gratitude and celebration now!
May the “more” of our Father in heaven become a reality as we embrace a posture of letting go. May we savour the small and, at first glance, insignificant, and may we experience the abundance of Kingdom commodities like contentment, peace, joy and justice in this season.
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About the author:
Andy Wood loves to mix things up. Winnipeg Centre Vineyard, where he is a pastor, is a diverse community of people with a deep sense of welcome to those who find themselves marginalized. Flatlanders Inn, where he is a founding member, is an intentional community that is especially welcoming to people at risk of homelessness. The Vineyard School of Justice, which he started in 1999, is a unique immersion program that explores justice issues alongside those who have firsthand experience of those very issues. Andy and Beckie, his wife of 20 years, have 4 kids. He loves to ride his motorcycle and cross-country ski – depending on the season.