The Story of Stuff -- FPC sermon excerpt

“A house is just a pile of stuff.”

That’s what comedian George Carlin said in a classic routine called “Stuff.”

“You can see that when you’re taking off in an airplane,” he explains. “You look down, you see everybody’s got a little pile of stuff. All the little piles of stuff. And when you leave your house, you gotta lock it up. Wouldn’t want somebody to come by and take some of your stuff.”

Especially the shiny stuff.

“That’s what your house is,” he concludes, “a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get … more stuff!”

We’ve all got stuff — in closets, on bookshelves, in cabinets, in garages, on counters, in cupboards, in attics, and in basements. Carlin is right: Our houses are just piles of stuff, with covers on them. And when we fill up our houses we go out and rent storage lockers. For our stuff. I cannot believe that I still have boxes of stuff that I have not unpacked since I moved into my house — nine years ago!

I really don’t think I need that stuff.

The upcoming holiday season is a spiritual time, but also a celebration of stuff. It starts this Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, when over 100 million Americans participate in the shopping rush called “Black Friday.”

It accelerates through the Advent Season, as people max out their credit cards buying presents for family members and friends. It reaches a crescendo on Christmas Eve, as people check off the last items on their shopping lists, and then it continues the next week as people snatch up even more stuff at after-Christmas sales. Retailers are dependent on the holiday season for their financial health, since this quarter of the year produces most — or all — of their profits.

Christmas is an important chapter in the story of stuff.

This seems odd, given that the people closest to Jesus had little interest in material things. In her song of praise in the first chapter of Luke, Mary sings, “Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name” (vv. 48-49).

Mary is not saying that she is blessed because she has a nice house filled with valuable stuff. She is not talking about the blessings of life in Northern Virginia, which tend to include prosperity, security, education, and good health. No, she says that she is blessed because God — the Mighty One — has scattered the proud, brought down the powerful, lifted up the lowly, filled the hungry, and sent the rich away empty (vv. 51-53).

The good stuff that God gives is not really stuff.

Religious Slacktivism -- FPC sermon excerpt

Slacktivism.

This is a word I recently heard for the first time. It begins with the term for a person who avoids work — a slacker. It ends with the word for intentional action to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change — activism.

Slacker. Activism. Put the two together, and you get slacktivism.

So what does it mean? Slacktivism is sending a text message in support of a project. It is going on Facebook and joining Causes.com. It is clicking your computer mouse as an expression of support. It is making a $2 contribution toward global health after buying a plane ticket through Travelocity. It is adding a dollar to your grocery bill to fight prostate cancer.

Are these bad things? No, not at all. Causes.com claims to have raised $27 million for 27,000 non-profits. But if you do the math, you find that this averages out to $1,000 per non-profit. That’s not much. It costs $2,500 per day to run the mission and ministry of Fairfax Presbyterian Church.

The problem with slacktivism is that is a low-commitment, low-impact activity.

Nancy Lublin, writing in Fast Company magazine (May 1, 2010), says that “it refers to doing good without having to do much at all. It’s inch-deep activism that you can do from the comfort of your own couch, whether that’s clicking for good or texting to save the world. One of the earliest forms of slacktivism was wearing one of those rubber [Livestrong] wristbands … doesn’t cost much money and takes even less effort.”

To be called a slacktivist is definitely not a compliment.

Problem is, there is an equally troubling trend in the church that I would call religious slacktivism. There are people in every congregation who are chronically needy, even though they have the means and the capacity to be self-sufficient. Others are “C and E Christians” — Christmas and Easter only. They show up twice a year, but expect the church to respond immediately when they need a baptism, wedding, or funeral. Still others sit back and complain about things that bother them — the sermons, the music, the children’s programs, the mission outreach activities. They have strong opinions, but little energy to make things better.

Slacktivism.

In today’s passage of Scripture, the apostle Paul commands the Christians of Thessalonica to “keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not according to the tradition that they received from us” (2 Thessalonians 3:6). Paul wants the Thessalonians to stay away from slackers, and follow the example that he and his colleagues have set. And what was it that they did? They were not idle when they were in Thessalonica, and they did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it. They worked night and day so that they would not be a burden to anyone (vv. 7-8).

Paul and his colleagues were religious activists, not slacktivists.

Paul goes on to say, “For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right” (vv. 11-13). Paul wants the Thessalonians to get off the couch and get to work.

What’s interesting about this command is that it is not a call to serve the church. Paul is not saying: Volunteer to teach the children in Storytime … sign up for the hypothermia program … fill a Christmas stocking for the poor … bring some canned goods to the food pantry … join the Youth Fellowship kitchen team … sign up to greet church visitors through the Advent season … give an hour a week to serving the homeless at the Lamb Center.

No, Paul is simply saying, “do not be weary in doing what is right.” He seems to know that enthusiastic service is good for us, regardless of the particular activity. Active involvement turns us into better people, better followers of Christ.