“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.” (Matthew 23:27).

19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was being tormented, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side.” (Luke 16: 19-23)

A couple of weeks ago my kids threw a joint birthday party for Hugh and me, in honour of our 60^th birthdays.  They came, they cleaned, and they cooked, and basically did everything so that Hugh and I could relax and enjoy the time with a few friends.  The day called for rain, so they cleaned out our carport and moved the party from the back deck to the carport; complete with outdoor lights and balloons proudly displaying the number ‘60’.  The work they did was beautiful, and was actually about three weeks worth of work because they knew the ‘assignment’ and knew that I would be incredibly stressed to have a party at my house. 

I have always had these old messages in the back of my head that my home is too modest, and my housekeeping is too poor to have people over.  They’re messages that have been repeated to me by others over the years; in kind of weird but well-meaning and patronizing ways?  Like dropping off old furniture unsolicited because there was a belief that their hand-me-downs were better than what I had.  I’m sure you all can see the cringe in that.  I think that these messages have been perpetuated even more with the use of social media, and people showing immaculate and curated spaces on forums like TikTok or Zoom.  At the height of Zoom meetings, I actually saw a video that showed clergy how to manage their backgrounds – to the point of obviously displaying books that looked good and appropriate to the meeting instead of the jumble of half-read books and novels that I have that may or may not have anything to do with my life at all! 

A lot of me thinks that we have become all of these ‘whitened sepulchres’ where we look good but are dying inside. 

Recently, Emily, my youngest, the one who keeps me abreast of all things current, told me that, much to my surprise, I was now ‘trendy’.  That there was this no thing on TikTok where they talked about “under-consumption-core”.  Apparently this trend of ‘under-consumption’ is a trend that means that you:

-make do with what you have

-use things up before you buy new

-repair before you replace

-and basically, live with your life and your surroundings as they are, and not try to buy new ‘stuff’ just because there’s new stuff out there. 

Emily pointed around the house, and showed me the things that were now making me ‘trendy’ – the 1980s cupboards in the kitchen with burn holes in the countertops.  The cracked tile around the refrigerator.  The old lino in the bathroom that hadn’t been updated since the 1970s when the house was built.  Even the couch that we got from Habitat from Humanity that the dogs sit on with their muddy paws chewing their liver treats. 

All of the things that I was embarrassed by.  All of the things that made me resistant to show hospitality and celebration to my friends.  All of the things that I cringe at when people come to the door are now…

Trendy.

Something to be celebrated.  Something to show off instead of hide. 

And once again I was brought up short about how influenced I am by social pressures, and how radical the message of the gospel actually is.  The message that continuously says that how we look means nothing.  The wealth that we have, the privilege that we carry, in our gospel stories, is a hindrance to our faith and to accessing God’s kingdom on earth,  rather than a ‘leg up’ to eternity. 

But we keep endorsing the ‘whitened sepulchres’ that Jesus preached against, don’t we.  (And just so you know, a sepulchre is a tomb, or a casket).  We keep endorsing the outward appearances and let the inward stuff be a place of death and decay. 

So, my friends.  Come on over.  Come sit on the couch with the dogs, and hang out in my 1980s kitchen.  My faith tells me that my love for you, my hospitality and my welcome are far more important than all of this looking good.  And trust me, if it wasn’t for this odd “under-consumption-core” trend, I will not get any interior decorating awards.  But you matter more to me than whether or not my place looks good.  Just don’t bring any of your used furniture with you. 

Blessings today, and you are loved regardless of whether or not you are trendy.  And really, that’s the most important thing ever.

~Rev. Lynne