Walter Brueggemann: Good Ends

There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flames.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things and Lazarus in like manner evil things, but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’ He said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house—for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.’ Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’ He said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’” Luke 16:19-31

“It is easy enough to transpose that dramatic inequality in food distribution in the Bible to our own contemporary food distribution. In our practice, the wealthy can enjoy an abundance of lavish foods while subsistence workers (on a very low minimum wage) and others who are “left behind” get the leftovers from such distributive practices. This arrangement of food distribution is reflected in the parsimonious practice of “food stamps” that is a grudging policy of food distribution. And now the imposition of work requirements on the hungry reflects the dread of some wealthy that “some needy person might get something for nothing” from our vast abundance of food! The imposition of work requirements on the vulnerable is matched by generous government grants designed for the most advantaged producers!

That intentional inequity that happens daily in our society occurs on international scale as food becomes a weapon for the rich nations against the poorer nations. Food becomes an instrument of manipulation and extortion. That inequitable practice of food distribution calls to mind the parable of Jesus concerning a rich man and Lazarus, who “longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table.” The parable proposes that the rich man and his ilk are held to the demanding expectations of the Torah while Lazarus is embraced by Father Abraham, a stand-in for God’s compassion. The parable suggests that parsimonious food distribution leads to an alienation that does not and cannot come to a good end, while the tilt of God’s rule is toward those who hunger and are eventually blessed.”

Walter Brueggemann in Materiality As Resistance: Five Elements for Moral Action in the Real World (Louisville: WJKP, 2020), 34-35.

As I type this, I must admit that I spend more days each year in undeveloped countries that lack clean drinking water, shelter, and food for the average person. I see the ineffectiveness of parsimonious food distribution. People should not send help. Handouts only fuel local corruption and external support dependency. How can we achieve good ends? Follow the example of Jesus. Go help or send helpers who build disciples.

I have chosen to give my life to doing the work of helping people like Lazarus (whose name means “God helps”) in the hardest places and teaching them to follow Jesus with integrity and to turn brokenness into blessing by following His ways. Join me through your giving or service. Simultaneously, let us tell rich people dressed in purple to store up their treasures in heaven through generous giving while they still have time.

What will you do? Most take the parsimonious path by default. Don’t let that be you. If you fit in the story as having more than enough resources to live, give, serve, and love, then either go help or send helpers. God is watching. If you have insufficient resources and you identify with Lazarus, then cry out to the God who helps. God sees, hears, and will move toward you with compassion. Calling for His help for our work in Nepal.

Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty cors of choice flour and sixty cors of meal, ten fat oxen and twenty pasture-fed cattle, one hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fatted fowl. 1 Kings 4:22-23

“Next, we may consider the processes of food distribution. When food is grown locally, it will most naturally be delivered locally. Such local distribution makes it possible for consumers to deal directly with local producers. Locally grown food, moreover, is much more likely to be marked by compassionate neighborliness wherein food is more generously shared with neighbors who may lack resources or purchasing power. Such distribution readily becomes a practice of genuine neighborliness. Our primary modes of food distribution wholly lack such a compassionate sensibility.

In the pressured world of industrial production, distribution follows the familiar trajectories of wealth and poverty. As a result, those with great resources are able to enjoy vast accumulations of rich food. Such a capacity for accumulation is evident in the Bible when Pharaoh deprives the peasants in his domain of their means of production. Consequently, food distribution depends upon a food czar (Joseph the Israelite!) to mete out food according to the whim of Pharaoh.

Pharaoh’s practice of keeping surplus food for himself, moreover, is replicated by his King Solomon, who enjoyed a lavish table that featured a vast inventory of meats, the very food denied to the peasants. This extravagant surplus of food depended on the productivity of agrarian peasants who worked the soil for subsistence income. At the same time, this royal practice denied to those same peasants any access to such an extravagant diet.”

Walter Brueggemann in Materiality As Resistance: Five Elements for Moral Action in the Real World (Louisville: WJKP, 2020), 33-34.

The events far exceeded expectations in Kathmandu regarding attendance and response. We had the largest attendance for an accountability event in history at 120 accountants, lawyers, pastors, ministry workers, and other professionals.

Additionally, our Stations of Generosity training yesterday we trained 60 pastors, trainers, and other ministry workers from all 7 provinces of Nepal to spread it through their networks. Thanks so much for your prayers. Off to Pokhara today.

Regarding food distribution, I remember while growing up that the flood of California and Mexican tomatoes, which had little flavor, to the markets in the Midwest caused prices to drop and led to the closure of many local greenhouses.

So, while the mega farmers likely had lavish tables like Solomon, the little local growers had to shut down and find other work. Today’s post is not about the plight of the American farmer but about something deeper.

It links to two things. First, the practice of keeping surplus for self runs contrary to the teachings of Christ. Second, the desire for growth and gain with an insensitivity to the impact on others.

If we possess these two traits we look no different from the world. Furthermore, we should not bear the name Christian or say we align with Christ because such actions don’t reflect any reverence for God or love of neighbor.

Do you see those who are skillful in their work? They will serve kings; they will not serve common people. Proverbs 22:29

“Mature materiality will lead us to pay much greater attention to the modes of food production in which we participate by our choices of foods and our practices of eating. If we are in thrall to a notion of scarcity, we may embrace industrial production on the assumption that greater productivity will overcome scarcity. If, however, we are alive to God’s abundance we may have confidence that land, respected and wisely cared for, will produce the local food that is required.”

Walter Brueggemann in Materiality As Resistance: Five Elements for Moral Action in the Real World (Louisville: WJKP, 2020), 33.

Yesterday I mentioned Dr. Milan Hluchý of Czech Republic. I want to tell you a few stories about him that illustrate this idea of confidence to inspire you toward creation care.

Milan has spent years mastering the art and science of organic plant protection for the vineyards of Czech Republic.
On the art side, he has growers plan a flower mix in every other row to pumps energy into the soil below the surface and bring good insects and pollinators.

On the science side, he instructs the release of mites that, for lack of a better expression, eat the bad bugs. So, what does this have to do with generosity?

It took years for Milan to generate the research to show the negative impact of industrial production and the positive impact of organic plant protection. But over time, the data showed increased yield, increased quality, increased resistance to diseases and other challenges. And best of all, the data has given confidence.

I chose today’s Scripture because it reflects Milan’s story. Recently he met with the President of Czech Republic and even spoke to officials of the entire European Union. Why? They now see the negative implications of the use of chemicals in food production – such as the loss of biodiversity – and want to go organic to increase yield and quality.

But what the biggest barrier to going organic? It’s the chemical companies. They have cast what seems like a spell over the industry. Yet, the tide is turning. How can the average person make a difference? Pay more to buy organic. And do it with confidence that the food will taste better and God will see your care for creation.

And your care for creation might just keep the world habitable for your children and children’s children should our Lord Jesus Christ tarry His return.

Thanks for your prayers for our program work in Nepal. Yesterday’s event went off with great success. Today we train workers from across the nation with Stations of Generosity. Pray for a day filled with personal transformation.

God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” Genesis 1:28

“In mature materiality it will be useful to trace the crisis of scarcity/abundance all through the process from farm to table. First, we may consider processes of food production around the question of scarcity and abundance. This issue comes down to a contrast between the family farm and industrial agriculture.

It is not romantic to notice that food locally grown on family farms or through local gardening efforts sustained society for a long time. The industrial revolution, however, introduced more advanced technology and larger farm equipment that made it possible (and necessary?) for a single farmer to manage larger farming tracts.

But of course, investment in more costly equipment made it necessary to maximize production, and the maximization of production required the purchase of more acreage that in turn displaced the family farm. Production was further advanced by chemical fertilizers and by food cartels that control farm production through contractual arrangements and that have no interest in the farm, the land, the farmer, or even the quality of the food.

The illusion of industrial agriculture is that such production could feed the world and indeed must feed the world, because the harvest of local efforts is taken to be too modest and therefore ineffective. The outcome is food that is “bechemicaled” (what a marvelous word!).”

Walter Brueggemann in Materiality As Resistance: Five Elements for Moral Action in the Real World (Louisville: WJKP, 2020), 32.

I grew up in Ohio and my family ran Hoag’s Greenhouses for 82 years. We grew tomatoes and cucumbers in a hot house or greenhouse setting. People would drive for miles to come buy our tomatoes and cucumbers for the quality of the flavor and because we used organic growing methods rather than chemicals.

Along with most growers, we previously used chemicals, as experts told us too. But I recall switching to more organic methods to care for the soil and increase quality and yield. We implemented nutrient feeding, drip irrigation, and even released “hit bugs” to eat the white flies rather than spraying dangerous pesticides.

Why write about the bechemicaled nature of food production today in contrast to farm to table production? Our first task as steward relates to creation, and we are killing. World authority in organic plant protection, Dr. Milan Hluchý of Czech Republic has taught me that if we kill it with poisons we destroy ourselves and any hope future generations.

Generosity comes into view as creation care. Pause and ask yourself: What patterns in my purchasing and my stewardship can avoid polluting and poisoning God’s creation?

Work is going well in Nepal. We have sensed many spiritual attacks so please keep our team in your prayers. Today’s an historic day. We host the accountability event with influential Christian workers from every province in the nation. We pray to activate a working group to bring peer accountability to Nepal.

In the evening quails came up and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp… When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat… I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.” Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel… They asked, and [God] brought quails and gave them food from heaven in abundance. He opened the rock, and water gushed out; it flowed through the desert like a river. Exodus 16:13, 15; 17:6; Psalm 105:40–41

“It will be useful, in mature materiality, to reflect on the compelling power of the narrative of scarcity. For many in the “clean plate club,” eating is required because of “starving children in Africa.” Beyond that, however, is the relentless insistence of consumerism that we are entitled (because we are Americans) to have more and own more and eat more.

The ideology of consumerism intends both (a) to affirm the legitimacy of satiation and (b) to attest that we do not yet have enough to be satiated and must still secure (purchase) the next offer of satiation. The hope of mature materiality is that we may be disengaged from and resistant to that distortion of reality.

The ground for such disengagement and resistance is rooted in trust in the creator God and the generativity of God’s creation that is the primary story line of the Bible. That biblical story line has its pivot point in the narrative of wondrous manna in Exodus 16
.
In that narrative Israel is in the wilderness, cut off from the food supply of Pharaoh. Very quickly the newly departed slaves, in their anxiety, yearn for Pharaoh’s food supply. In the wilderness there are no obvious life-support systems. In that very place that seems utterly bereft, however, bread is given . . . and meat . . . and water, all the necessities for life!”

Walter Brueggemann in Materiality As Resistance: Five Elements for Moral Action in the Real World (Louisville: WJKP, 2020), 31.

The new header photo features Kathmandu. I am here for historic GTP meetings with representatives of the various Christian alliances along with many skilled lawyers, accountants, and other professionals. Today, they travel from the 7 provinces to this city. Tomorrow is the big meeting. Appreciate your prayers.

And no I cannot see Mt. Everest. This is the rainy season so there are many clouds. It’s okay. I am looking to a different mountain for help. My help comes from the LORD, maker of heaven and earth.

I find it brilliant that Brueggemann starts with “the compelling power of the narrative of scarcity” when most Christians start with the reality of God’s abundance. Why? I have found as both a biblical scholar and Christ follower that I don’t find myself in Scripture or society unless I look at the bad examples and wrong thinking.

The narrative of scarcity guides the unbridled consumerism and accumulation in modern American society. It says, “You have to look out for number one.” Between the lines this thinking says, “There is no generous God looking out for you.”

Then Brueggemann moves us to the manna story. I love the manna story of the Old Testament. When we read the manna story alongside the Lord’s Prayer we discover that the God who invites us to trust Him for daily bread has a track record of trustworthiness.

Ponder the sinfulness of the scarcity mindset and the patterns it causes us to embrace. Ask the Holy Spirit what needs to change to grow in trust in God’s abundance. Ironically, the antidote to the gluttony and greed – patterns linked to scarcity and promoted in society – is generosity. Giving helps disengage. How might you grow your giving today?

[Jesus] said to His disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, you of little faith! And do not keep seeking what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. For it is the nations of the world that seek all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek His kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. Luke 12:22-31

“In the Gospel of Luke, the parable of Jesus in Luke 12:13-21 revolves around a warning against greed that is then expanded by the instruction Jesus gives to His disciples in the next paragraph (vv. 22–31). Jesus offers a contrast to the practice of scarcity for His disciples who are invited to God’s abundance. He witnesses to a trustworthy abundance that gives the lie to the scarcity imagined by the farmer in the parable. He summons His disciples out of the narrative of scarcity and into his alternative narrative of abundance. That abundance, Jesus attests, is grounded in the generative capacity of the creator God who supplies adequate food for birds, for lilies, and for those who “strive for God’s kingdom” (v. 31), that is, a realm of justice, righteousness, and mercy. Thus the work of mature materiality concerning food is to move our mindfulness away from an imagined scarcity that evokes excessive accumulation and satiation to a trustworthy abundance that permits us to be free of worry about what we shall eat (v. 22).”

Walter Brueggemann in Materiality As Resistance: Five Elements for Moral Action in the Real World (Louisville: WJKP, 2020), 31.

I traveled from India to Nepal yesterday. I am safely here for GTP program work to activate a an accountability and generosity movement with meetings in Kathmandu and Pokhara now through 10 September 2025 .

I just love that right after the rich fool narrative Jesus reminds us not to worry.

Our Father in heaven has the “generative capacity” to meet the needs of every bird, nourish every flower, and sustain every human on planet earth. We get to either place our trust Him or in ourselves.

In Him we can count on “a trustworthy abundance that permits us to be free of worry about what we shall eat.”

Just sit in that truth for a while. Marinate in the reality.

I got news whilst traveling that my dad has prostate cancer. I’d appreciate your prayers for him. I don’t know many details but with the news my mom urged me to keep my trip plans. Hang in there, dad. Keep looking up.

I give thanks for my mom and dad who taught me not to worry about anything but to pray about everything.

Someone in the crowd said to [Jesus], “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?” And he said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” Then he told them a parable: “The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.” Luke 12:13-21

“Nothing in our lives is more immediate and constant than the requirement of food. Food is the most specific materiality that is before us daily. For that reason, mature materiality must address it and invite critical reflection on food. In the first instant, the concern is to eat “real food” that nourishes, to eat with mindfulness and restraint, and to maintain good weight and bodily health through food choices and exercise. That must be a major agenda in a society beset by junk food, eating disorders, disordered eating, and obesity. Beneath that immediate concern about food, however, our deeper difficult question pivots around the issue of scarcity and abundance. That matter is made central in the parable of Luke 12:13–21. Jesus’ story portrays a rich man, a rich farmer who specialized in accumulation, who strategized to store up more and more food (grain) because in his anxiety he imagined he did not have enough yet. His appetite for more grain became insatiable. And his insatiability turned out to be lethal for him; he died in his “foolishness.” He was a victim of imagined scarcity. He believed there was not enough, so he had to secure for himself much more than enough.”

Walter Brueggemann in Materiality As Resistance: Five Elements for Moral Action in the Real World (Louisville: WJKP, 2020), 30.

With the proliferation of cancers, I appreciate Brueggemann’s call to eat real food that nourishes rather than processed food or junk food that seems to accelerate health challenges and even diseases.

But I love that he went deeper to address the insatiability issue. The fact that the farmer has the label ‘rich man’ implies he has more than enough. That’s what rich means in the biblical narrative, you have more than enough.

So, what should the farmer do with the surplus?

As a “victim of imagined scarcity” which riddles a person with insatiability, he keeps it for himself. His foolish failure to share costs him his life. And he misses the privilege of sharing, a task which God will see to without him.

Where do you see yourself in this picture?

Do you eat real food to show generosity toward your body which is the temple of the Holy Spirit to care for it, so you can serve God for a long time. Or do you feed on junk food, or have disordered eating, or weigh in with obesity?

And since most of us are not farmers, what do you do with your surplus. If accumulation is your answer, then I suggest you rethink your strategy before God chooses someone else to redistribute that which is perishable.

As I think about my dear wife at home tending our garden whilst I travel, I think of the abundance of vegetables.

Imagine how silly it would be if our garden produced hundreds of tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, squash, and other vegetables. Not only would it rot, we would miss out on the joy of sharing generously with our neighbors.

God’s people do well to think about money in precisely the same way as garden vegetables.

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. 1 Timothy 6:10

“This triad of earning, saving, and giving may lead to a repositioning of the monetized self in a network of neighborliness as a contributing member of the community. These three foci help us to see that our society’s dominant narrative of money believes, against Christian materiality: Earning is all for the self with an endless accumulation. Saving is a private enterprise designed to enhance the autonomous self. Giving is likely to be parsimonious and erratic. Mature materiality summons us to a radical relocation of the self that includes a departure from the usual assumptions of our society concerning money.”

Walter Brueggemann in Materiality As Resistance: Five Elements for Moral Action in the Real World (Louisville: WJKP, 2020), 27.

This summary statement by Brueggemann captures everything in his chapter on money. More importantly, it summarizes the departure we need to make from the warld’s way of handling money.

The world leads us to rationalize the pursuit of endless accumulation, the enhancement of the autonomous self, and parsimonious and erratic giving at best. God wants more for us.

God’s Word calls us to a radical relocation of the self and a departure from these assumptions. That’s why Jesus speaks so explicitly about where (and where not) to store up treasure.

This reading is so powerful we can only sit with the Holy Spirit and wonder. How has the world tricked me into putting self rather than God at the center. Ask God to show you one step to take.

And while you take that step, know that my week in India has been deeply impactful. It’s been a privilege to shake and wake the India and Sri Lanka missions movement to radical shift toward faithful stewardship.

Many voices in the conference have echoed the call to bring order and oversight as the pathway for strengthening capacities to reach the unreached with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

If there is among you anyone in need, a member of your community in any of your towns within the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward your needy neighbor. Deuteronomy 15:7

“When we join our commitment to place to our management of money, it follows that monetary investment and expenditure should be focused locally to serve the neighborhood economy. It is crucial to “keep the money at home.” Such a commitment tilts against unrestrained engagement with big-box stores and merchandising chains (notably those online) that intend to move the money out of the neighborhood. (An easy case to cite is the choice of a local bookstore over against the “convenience” of Amazon; extracting money from the local economy is characteristically “convenient”!) Keeping money local is an important ingredient in mature materiality.”

Walter Brueggemann in Materiality As Resistance: Five Elements for Moral Action in the Real World (Louisville: WJKP, 2020), 26.

Let me explain the significance of this from India and why I wish people would stop sending money over here with maybe two exceptions.

First, I hear story after story of India ministry workers who say, why raise funds locally when it’s easier just to ask an American to make a gift. Secondly, Americans send money overseas thinking trying to solve problems, and they hinder the people here from doing the work of putting to use what they have.

Then I hear American’s complaining that they don’t like the trajectory of the morality of their local society. All the more reason to give where you live.

So what should cross-border giving look like? If you give to help them build capacity, it turns dependency to discipleship. I am all for that.

Or supporting workers like GTP to go into hard places not with handouts but with help in the form of training and coaching, to teach them to use what they have and not just call America when they have a need.

I am neither saying to cancel your Amazon subscription nor to quit giving overseas. I am saying to understand the impact of your buying and your giving on the world in which we live.

Our giving and living decisions shape the local society. What do you want your world to look like?

One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:28-31

“Responsible Christian materiality has a great stake in the public good, the arena of neighborliness. Investment in the common good most often takes the form of tax payment. In a society of individual competitiveness, taxes are seen as a pernicious intrusion into one’s monetized freedom that must be vigorously resisted and minimized. Such resistance is nothing less than a retreat from the common good.

In Christian materiality, the payment of taxes is a form of giving back to the community that may be welcomed. Of course not all taxes are good or welcome. Some are ignoble and indeed are pernicious. Responsible materiality requires advocacy for good taxes that enhance the common good. These might include better funding for public schools, improved infrastructure that is available to all, and provision for essential food and housing.

The need for good taxation in responsible materiality is underscored by Arianna Huffington’s observation that it is “much easier” to raise money for “the opera and fashionable museums than for at-risk children. . . . The task of overcoming poverty will not be achieved without the raw power of government appropriations.” Christian materiality does not shrink from the raw power of government and advocates its mobilization in the service of the common good. This form of giving is not only an act of generosity; it is also an act of good citizenship, even patriotism!”

Walter Brueggemann in Materiality As Resistance: Five Elements for Moral Action in the Real World (Louisville: WJKP, 2020), 26.

Today I want to ask a question. If you look at your giving, how do you see neighborliness? It’s really up to you to answer. Many followers of Christ tend to do well to give to God, but not even know their neighbor’s name.

For us, it starts with learning their names, then sharing our lives, our pickles, and lately, even pesto. From there we can have conversations, help them in time of need, and share our Christian faith when the opportunity comes up.

I still swim in the shallow end of generosity in the neighborliness area, perhaps because I travel so much. But it’s good to think and pray about how our giving shows love for God and neighbor, and follow the leading of the spirit to grow.