Economy of Love

I have been a big fan of Shane Claiborne since the summer of 2011. I heard him speak at Rendezvous - a United Church of Canada youth and young adult national gathering. I was invited to attend in order for me to give a presentation on the ins and outs of study/exposure tour leadership based on the 2008 youth trip to Zambia in which I was one of the lead coordinators. Because I was not in charge of a group of youth, I had the freedom to attend whichever sessions I desired. In my free time, one afternoon, I stopped in to listen to Shane speak.

Shane is a founder of The Simple Way, an organization/community/faithful group of folks who live out their lives as if Jesus actually said (and meant) everything that he said in the Bible. Are you familiar with those bibles that have all the dialogue spoken in the Gospels that have been attributed to Jesus written in red? Well, Shane is a 'red-letter believer' and, as such, is committed to living out the things that Jesus taught.

Shane and his community have done much good in the world. Particularly in north Philadelphia. I admire his 'walking the talk'. He and his companions in faith share their possessions in common, share as there is need, they break bread and praise God together. They feed the hungry and clothe the naked. They do this each and every day - at great risk of being arrested and prosecuted because, believe it or not, it is illegal in Philadelphia to feed the homeless out on the street.

While I cannot live as simply as Shane would have me, I do enjoy reading about his ideas and theology. I have discovered that I am at odds with Shane on few matters but, as we all know, no one is perfect. 😊When his presentation was finished, I went straight to the book room and bought all his books. I'm terrible that way. When I like what someone has to say, I feel compelled to buy their stuff. I felt okay about buying Shane's books because the proceeds went to The Simple Way. So...needless to say, I had a couple or three of Shane's books on my TO-READ shelf. You will notice that my READ pile is growing. I won't show you my TO-READ books cause it's still a bit overwhelming.

Shane's book, Economy of Love, is not actually authored only by Shane. After some detailed looking, the best author line I could find was: by Relational Tithe with Shane Claiborne. From what I can understand, the group, Relational Tithe, is a movement that Shane co-created with several other people. In a very short, and likely inaccurate description of the group, Relational Tithe is about the good work that could be done if people of faith gave money to do what the bible instructs us to do - feed the poor, help the widowed, clothe the naked, heal the sick. Economy of Love is intended to be a five-week study for a group to explore together how their lifestyles and relationship with money affects the rest of the world. There is a link to a website, Global Rich List, that calculates how wealthy you are in comparison to everyone else on the planet. The concepts of 'how much is enough?' and trust in the community to provide are examined as necessary ways to live faithfully.

As I said earlier, I don't always agree with Shane. One issue I have with this book is the insistence that the world can only be healed by the direct intervention of people of faith who pool their money and give where it is needed. There is no call in this book to promote wider awareness of the issues that create the environment the allows for all the ills of society that is encountered in Philedelphia or to lobby the government for policy changes.

Of course, caring for those who live at society's margins is what being Christian is all about. However, my question is, from a Canadian's point of view, is where is the responsibility of society and government in aiding those who are downtrodden and ill? Not having ever lived in the States, I do not fully appreciate or understand the role of government, social agencies and the health care system in the caring for those who are mentally and physically ill, for those who have experienced disabilities preventing them from fully providing for themselves or their families, for those who have addictions, and on and on.

But, from my Canadian perspective, I believe that our social responsibilities include paying taxes and demanding policy be made so that medical care and education are available for all people, that assistance at times of disaster (natural or in one's personal life) is available, that people have access to housing, food and job-training. And on and on. I know we don't have it all sorted and right here in Canada but the burden of caring for the ill, the widowed, the outcast and the downtrodden should not rest solely on individual churches. Society, as a whole, has to be responsible. We, as Christians, certainly help out in that responsibility. We assist. We guide. We offer comfort and care. We push for change. We educate. We advocate. We love.