What does it feel like to feel rich?

​Dear Northminster Friend,

What does it feel like to feel rich?

Of course, to feel rich, one's basic needs need to be met. Food on the table, shelter overhead, and clean water at ones fingertips. A sense of safety and security that pervades one's life. But having one's needs met is a far cry from feeling RICH. Another easy answer is money and wealth. Yes, this is the most simplistic understanding of being rich, but it is one that pervades most of our current culture. Some would describe the feeling as being able to order anything on the menu without being concerned with price. Others are more audacious and dream about buying anything, frivolous or seriously expensive, they want without the fear of going into debt. Still others cannot image being rich without being clothed in anything less than luxury fashion they sip rare wine at an exclusive country club looking out over a natural wonder. American richness always seems to be guided by what one has and by the accumulation of things.

I remember in an Anthropology 101 class in college watching the 1970's documentary Ongka's Big Moka that documented a custom between various clans in Papua New Guinea who participated in a ritual gifting of pigs called a Moka. The "Big Man" would spend years breading and cultivating pigs to gift to other. Oddly, I recall that the tribes and clans did not eat pigs, but they were used as a type of currency in what was called a gift economy. In this world view, to be rich was to be able to give your riches away to others. Notably, this system of gifting is generally not seen as altruistic, but comes with social obligations and other customs.
I have seen both of these types of aspirational wealth play out with people I know. On the one hand, I have seen friends strive for more and more because they never feel like they have acquired enough wealth or things to feel safe. Often, these friends knew instability and precarity early in their lives. Now that they are older, they still struggle to trust that what they have accumulated will be enough. On the other hand, I have also encountered other people who "humble brag" about how much they are able to give away. It is as if they make a show of how much they are able to gift to charities, organizations, and churches, without themselves being affected.

My own sense of richness that I have personally cultivated is one that grows out a feeling of abundance. It is, "Hey neighbor, I made a huge pot of chili and I can't eat it all myself. Do you want some?" It is, "Here! Have a zucchini from the garden! Do you want some rosemary? I can give you a cutting!" It is, "I am already heading that way. Do you want me to pick something up for you?" It is, "I made a pot of tea. Come, sit with me and have some." It is, "I have extra space. If you need a space to be, come use it." Abundance is, "I have enough and more! And I want to share it with you." It isn't the same as a gift, but the spontaneous sharing often stemmed from the understanding that one has enough and more still to share.

Last year, Oakland University had to shut down some of its buildings due to a water/heating issue. It was at the end of the year when students were having rehearsals, performances, and recitals to show off all of the work they had put in that semester. We were reached out to by the music department (through one of our members) asking if we had space for them. It was Advent Season, so I joked that of course we did! Especially in a season where we tell a story about there being no room in the inn, we could make room for them! For me, this is the abundance of community: we have space and space to share. So we hosted the Oakland University Music department for a variety of performances, recitals, and rehearsals.
Here is the fun part of abundance: abundance shared is often abundance multiplied. Just today I got a card in the mail from the OU Music Department thanking us for hosting them. Included in that letter were 10 cards, each good for 2 tickets, to the Oakland Symphony Orchestra and Chorus's performance of Haydn's Mass in the Tie of War and Sergei Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances on Tuesday March 31st at 7:30 p.m. at Orchestra Hall, Detroit.

I will be honest, I do not know the correct way to distribute the 20 free seats to this gala concert. I will not be able to go myself, but I wanted to share this abundance with you all, for you made room and shared the abundance of the Northminster building as well.
If you are interested  in attending, please contact the office and we will share with you the information. First come, first serve.
​
Blessings,
Pastor Chris