Amy and “I Need a Fix”
I Need a Fix
This is the second of several SSS reflections inspired by Matthew Desmond‘s book Evicted. You don’t need to read the book to read this reflection. For those who are reading the book, this reflection is inspired by the chapter called “Order Some Carryout” (Ch. 9 pp. 111-133)
The human beings whose stories we read about in Evicted are complex, flawed and heartbreaking - just like the rest of us. In fact, the book is deeply theological in this way: everything that humans are capable of is in each one of us, and every human being is redeemed and beloved by God no matter what they - or we - have done or will do.
The truth of the incarnation - God as human - means that God cares about each one of us. God in giving God’s very self in the person of Jesus has experienced all the heartbreak that every human being experiences. Heartbreak like homelessness, abandonment, violence, addiction, loss, disappointment, grief. The Good News of the incarnation is that God is with us in the heartbreak.
Life can be so overwhelming. Denial is such a strong force. One way that humans cope with pain and suffering is to escape – through drink and drugs, binging food, television, shopping, risky behavior of all kinds, following false prophets, putting anything and everything in place of God.
Judgment of others is so easy. It feels good to be self- righteous! It feels good to be in a position to “help” others - or not. To be magnanimous – or not. To tell other people how to run their lives and do it our way – or else.
When I read about families who are being evicted and are completely unprepared for that reality, my fix is judgment. Why can’t they get their lives together? Why did they ignore the first notices of eviction? How can they live like this? How can they put their kids in such jeopardy? Pastor Daryl’s words and actions seem awfully familiar, maybe even justified. (pp 126-127)
When I find myself judging others like this, I can feel myself feasting on my own self-righteousness with knife and fork! It’s addictive; it makes me forget about my own problems, my own denial, my own pain, my own suffering.
Jesus says take the log out of your own eye before you concern yourself with the speck in your neighbor’s eye (Mt 7:3-5; Lk 6:42). Where am I living in denial? What issue in my life makes me want to put my head in the sand and wish it away rather than face it and deal with it?
It’s so easy to separate myself from the real people I am reading about. It’s so easy to imagine that I would behave differently were I to be faced in the same circumstances. The theological term for this pull to separate myself from my neighbor – my fellow human beings – is sin. Scripture is full of stories of God’s people turning away from God and neighbor. The good news is that Scripture is also full of God’s unceasing invitations to return – to return to love, to return to the commitment to live in community as God would have us live. In peace, in love, sharing what we have, where are all sheltered, safe, and fed. Amen.
