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“Larry”

Poverty

“Larry” (I have no idea if this was his legal name) used to sleep under a bush in the back lawn of the church more than a decade ago. He painted apartments for a guy who needed to paint them white between tenants. He worked off the books I imagine. He didn’t want to spend his hard earned money on rent or many of the other things most of us chase. His passion was drinking and that was his life.

He’d often come and sit in that chair in my office and talk to me about his life. One day he comes in with a can of beer and puts it on the table. He says “my life is in that can”.

The complexities of his choice or bondage wasn’t lost on him. He was estranged from his biological family and had lost many important relationships along the way. I was most useful to him as a listening ear to process his life, his losses, his future.

The last time I saw him was a decade ago. He had stumbled into Florin Rd. drunk one night, got hit by a car and broke his hip. He was living in the bushes of the church across the street, trying to make his way around with a walker. I suspect he’s dead.

The Poor You Will Always Have With You

Jesus quotes the book of Deuteronomy when he says “the poor you will always have with you”.

Who did he mean? What is poverty?

If you had to say “my life is in this __________” what would it be?

• money?
• reputation?
• family?
• career?
• relationship?

Howard Hughes died a hermit collecting jars of his own urine. Middle and upper class people expend themselves on exercise to stay fit or embrace monastic or ascetic practices and lifestyles to become spiritual or moral.

When I tell stories of Larry and others people are often fascinated because I think we all see that our story and his is not so different even though much around us says it is. We know that but we ponder the gulf. We want to put Larry in a different class but we know that thin circumstance separates us. We hunger for assurance that his fate and miseries will not be ours and we search our whole life long for the power or the access to secure the glory and joy we desire. Our quests usually bring us to spirituality or religion.

A Magic Man of Unlimited Power

Chapter 11 of the gospel of John tells the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. The way John tells the story Jesus intentionally delayed in arriving at his friend’s home so that he would in fact die and that he would be dead for four days. This would demonstrated that Lazarus was actually dead and put him past the three days that Jews at the time imagined the soul would linger with the body. Jesus shows up and calls Lazarus from the tomb in front of a large crowd.

Now I know that some of you will not believe the story because it attests that Jesus worked an extraordinary miracle, but I want you to pay attention to the reaction and ask yourself how believable that would be. A standard religious fable might have everyone who witnessed this or heard about it fall down and worship or believe, but the fallout of this miracle seems to have the air of authenticity.

Evidence for Jesus’ miracle in fact set the authorities on a path to kill Jesus. Why?

Fountain of Youth or Streams of Living Water

Let’s imagine that Lazarus was raised not by Jesus calling him but by the discovery of the fountain of youth. Let’s imagine that upon finding this fountain Mary and Martha, Lazarus’ sisters went to the fountain, filled a jug with its miraculous water, went to the dead corpse of their beloved brother, poured it in his mouth and he arose from the dead. What would happen after that?

It isn’t hard to imagine that of course word would spread, lots of people would hunt down this fountain but quickly those in power, who had governing authority and military might would wall off the fountain and use it as a source of their own power. Wars would be fought for such a fountain but its occupying army would have access to the water to heal their wounded soldiers and return them to guard it once more. The very wealthy and powerful would purchase the water or cut political bargains for it and they would live perpetually in beauty, youth and health while their political enemies, their adversaries and the poor would go on living in frustration and death. The entire history of the world would begin to orient around this fountain.

What if the Fountain were a person? Continue reading →