L.J. shares the following reflection on Sunday's Gospel according to Luke:
We all serve a god, but who or what is it? Today, Jesus explicitly states his doctrine of non-idolatry. Jesus summons us to be faithful to the first commandment, to have no other gods besides God, to not serve mammon. Only God is God, and if we serve mammon we suffer. “Mammon” means all the things and systems we trust over God, particularly anything giving us power based on wealth. Mammon describes a condition of the human heart. It equally describes the systems that develop in our world when people susceptible to mammon organize.
Throughout history, there have been many people who could not shake an obsessive fixation. Martin Scorsese’s movie, The Gangs of New York starring Leonardo Di Caprio and Daniel Day Lewis, hones in on New York City in the mid-eighteen hundreds, a time rife with obsessive fixations. In the movie, we see various instances of this: contempt for the poor, racism, corrupt politics, and a manic investment in reputation. Daniel Day Lewis plays Bill “The Butcher” Cutting. Bill is fixated on his hatred of immigrants and his American identity. He loathes foreigners so much he resorts to using the extreme violence of his gangs to rid his city of their presence. Leonardo Di Caprio plays Amsterdam Vallon who is fixated on vengeance for his father’s death at Bill’s hands. Each man’s fixation is an idol.
Idolatry is a suffocating fixation on someone or something. Idolatry suffocates because it seeks inordinate security through excessive control. In this way, the idol enslaves. Neither Bill nor Amsterdam are truly free, for each in his own way is chained to an idol. Bill is chained to his national pride while Amsterdam is chained to his desire for revenge. Neither one is able to lay aside their fixations. Bill has to cleanse New York City of the foreign element. Amsterdam has to seek vengeance.
Jesus addresses this dangerous compulsion present in both Bill and Amsterdam. In today’s Gospel, Jesus issues a prophetic warning: “You cannot serve God and mammon.” We all serve a god, but who or what is it? In this verse, Jesus explicitly states his doctrine of non-idolatry. Jesus summons us to be faithful to the first commandment, to have no other gods besides God. Only God is God, and if we serve mammon we suffer. “Mammon” means all the things and systems we trust over God, particularly anything giving us power based on wealth. Mammon describes a condition of the human heart. It equally describes the systems that develop in our world when people susceptible to mammon organize. This is empire. Mammon enters our world as empire and as the imperial ego that is its heart.
Both Amsterdam and Bill serve a god, but it isn’t the God of Jesus. Bill serves his American identity and hatred of immigrants while Amsterdam serves his vengeful spirit. Each gives his heart away to what is not God and loses his freedom. Each allows his ego to run wild and unchecked. They indulge their imperial egos, which seek control over everything and everyone. The imperial ego wants to dominate others to get what it thinks it needs to be happy.
Empire is based on the imperial ego, which fears reality and so wants to control it. Empires attempt to create security by seeking to control the world through military might, economic wealth, and cultural dominance. Rome, the Mongols, China, and America all fit into this definition of empire. The results for the rest of the world are usually high levels of insecurity, poverty, and, worst of all, death. I think we need to remember, though, that the roots of empire lay in the imperial ego: mine and yours. Such an ego does not let God be God, but seeks to manipulate God for the interests of the imperial ego and empire. Mammon is rotten to the core. Dorothy Day calls it the “dirty rotten system.” This system is stacked against the poor, the uneducated, minorities, prisoners, etc.
Today, Jesus fiercely reminds us that no one, no country, no thing holds our ultimate loyalty but God alone. It is as if Jesus is pointing directly at the flag of each and every nation and the free market we cherish so dearly and saying, “That’s not God!” If none of those things is divine, then none of them deserves our ultimate loyalty, especially if they are punishing and oppressing vast multitudes of people in addition to the earth itself.
With the God of mercy at our center, though, we become loyal to all people and the whole earth, because God loves all people and all creation. This becomes our love as well when God is our true center and not imperial ego or empire. The transformative practice implied by Jesus’ prophetic words is to worship God alone, which means to let God be God. Letting God be God is a danger to empire and its root cause, the imperial ego. Letting God be God for us is to resist empire by letting go of the imperial ego, then by letting go of lifestyles supporting empire, and finally by opposing empire directly through prophetic and nonviolent action, though always rooted in contemplative love. Our task is simply to let God be God. Both holiness and justice will follow.