The Call to Conversion/Repentance

It’s like I’ve been out shopping for boots, footwear that I can use for all occasions and terrain. They’ve got to be durable, adjustable, waterproof, not encumbering and above all, comfortable. I’ve searched high and low and suddenly, there they are. I try them on and they fit. I walk around in them and they’re like an extension of my feet. They will be a part of me from now on.

Such it has been with the concept of REPENTANCE. In the four days since the last I wrote, when I introduced the idea, things have been turning over and over in my head/heart/soul. In the process, my Calling, the path before me, the wonderful possibilities, the nearly insurmountable obstacles, all of these have taken new forms. Bare with me as I try to share it with you, using words that are loaded with meaning, but often not the same for each of us.

For most of us, we have only heard the word REPENT on TV or in the movies. It is associated with Christian evangelicals who are ranting about leaving lives of sin and choosing to “accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.” I need to say that I’ve nothing against that. But it’s not what I am about here. But the form is true enough.

To REPENT is to change direction. Before you can do that you need to know where you are presently going and where you will be going after you’ve made the change. Using the old evangelical terminology, you were convicted of your sins, before you could choose and come to believe. Conviction, in our case is simply an understanding of things as they are, of the reality of the world and our part in it, an awareness of how each thing we possess, each mile we drive in each vehicle, hurts the earth. Of how each thing we use inevitably takes from someone else, of how our blind participation in this society promulgates injustice and poverty for many others, of how we ourselves suffer from illnesses and stress because of this way of life, of how we have become spiritually deficit to the point of being only nominally human. To those that do not realize this in at least some degree, a call to repentance will be meaningless.

This old and most destructive way of life must be named. “Materialism” is so overdone that it has lost much of its meaning although we all know how the acquisition of material wealth has ruled our lives and culture for many generations. But what we are against, what must be turned away from is even more than the worship of MAMMON. It is a life ruled by FEAR. Be it fear of self, fear of others, fear of inadequacy, fear of death, fear of poverty, fear of the loss of control, fear of responsibility, fear of life, FEAR itself now rules much of the earth and our culture in particular. Only the naming of that power, looking it squarely (or even obliquely) in the eye, seeing it for what it is, will give us the knowledge and wisdom to turn away and find a new path.

If repentance, as a term has too much negative baggage for you, try conversion. The same steps apply. A BEFORE and AFTER are needed. Lives are changed. Feet are moved. Action is necessary. Again, this is not a doctrinal issue. It is much bigger than that. We use the term as to ‘convert’ from the Anglican church to the Roman Catholic Church, from Christianity to Judaism, etc. That is not what we mean. We are calling for REPENTANCE, a CONVERSION from a life based on fears to a life based upon love. Leaving one set of assumptions and paradigms for a new ones.

Again, definitions and explanations are probably in order. LOVE is not meant in the romantic way (however great and possible that may be), but in the biblical sense, where there were many levels of love. The most basic level of LOVE in the Jewish understanding was JUSTICE. In that knowledge we can ‘love our enemies’ and even love all people. We might not know them, we might not like them, even hate them, but we can recognize them as other children of God with rights to life and to have their needs met. We can love others as we do ourselves, working toward wholeness in them the same as we seek/need wholeness in ourselves.
It is very hard to do that if we are fearful. Impossible, even.

If you are religious, think in terms of God calling the whole world to repent, to a conversion that applies to humanity as a whole. If your understanding does not include a God/Spirit entity, think in terms of the world as a whole, as the people present and in the future crying out for renewal and hope, for justice and wholeness. It matters not from where you are standing.

If, however, you think that the here and now for you is all that matters, that what you do and the suffering it causes has no results that count in any way, that you are important enough or deserving enough to warrant the consequences of your lifestyle, that the person who dies with the most toys really does win, go ahead and don't consider changing. But see and understand the facts. Choose as you will.

If you chose against conversion you will surely be in good company. Most will choose by not listening. The powers-that-be and the momentum of society are all against any repentance/conversion. Let’s look at just a few examples of that.

I’ve mentioned before, and you know as well as I, how we are bombarded 24/7 with the message that “ we ARE what material possessions we have. We ARE what we CONSUME. We are deficient unless we possess. We are not whole without this stuff.” What a new thought process we would need in order to ask ourselves that we really need, and buy no more. Do we need a bigger home? Isn’t the one we have now already much bigger than the one in which we were raised? Do we need a second car? Even one? Really need? Do we need to order in pizza every thursday? Do I need ten pair of shoes? Do I need a new party dress? Or are these merely WANTS? Are there people whose needs I can meet by denying my wants? How do I help them?

The most immediate consequence of conversion away from a life of fear to a life of love will be that you will have more money at your disposal. Even if you are living on a very limited income, you will have more. I know many who live near poverty who spend much of their spare time shopping the garage sales, getting more stuff and judging their week by how many "good buys" they made. Rampant materialism is not only for the rich or middle class. It may well be that future examples of CONVERSION of poorer people will prod and encourage the more wealthy to change. It really takes very little to meet the needs of life. We all need the same things, materially. We all need the same things spiritually and socially. Only together can we have all of these things.

At the same time as we “save” (divert, convert) money (power) away from wants born from fears, we must convert them to the direction of love. Not wait. Not hesitate. Not invest. But give them away. And not to some local church to be used to pay the heat or staff salaries. But to the poor and needy to whom it will make a real difference of life. To create a water source. For a screen to keep infected mosquitoes away while children in the tropics sleep. For start-up funds for a local business or farm. Only when you know that your money is doing more for someone else than it is for you, will you be encouraged enough to look for more wants that can be converted into needs.

Again and again I will stress the need to do this with others. You simply will not be able to sustain your conversion alone. The power of consumerism will beat you down and you will end up even worse off than before, for you will then be a failure. With others you will gain knowledge, wisdom and enthusiasm. The good news is that it takes the shared power of only a few to confront the powers of FEAR and materialism.

I mentioned before how stupid/wrong and self defeating it is for us to not be open to living in a more shared way. This topic brings out most strongly the fears we hold. In most areas of Toronto there are over twice as many bedrooms as there are people. How can we claim that we know anything about love and accept this? When many of us claim/assume it is our right to control space like this, in this time of need and crisis, it is a wonder that there isn’t far more violence and anger. Those that pride themselves in their large and empty homes are patently evil and blind. I think that I can say that beyond any doubt. Those of us who control and use more than we need are part of the problem that is killing. Period.

Again I remind myself and you that this call is not a matter of religious doctrine. It is bigger than that. The CALL for Repentance/Conversion comes from God, Allah, the Earth, our Children, the Great Spirit, your Consciousness, who cares? This repentance/conversion is beyond yet includes belief. It is the totality of our thought and actions. If we accept the CALL it will change all around us. It will disrupt the present economy, but we will survive. It will change how we live, but we will be more happy and secure. It will create enemies, but we will find ourselves in the process. Hope and purpose will replace fears. People of all faiths and no “faith” will have far more in common than could have been previously believed. Many faith communities (churches) will be scandalized by the idea that something claims to be more important than their understanding. Others will see it as complimenting their understanding. For all who answer the call, LIFE will be their goal. There will be something more important to them then mere living, but the goal of living more completely will be enough.

Hear this as a call to you and to all the world, a small call from the desert, perhaps, but hear it never-the-less. You will know if it is valid for you. But only if you talk about it with someone you know is wise. Don’t ask a fool. You know what I mean. The validity of your asking depends upon the company in which it is asked and answered. Choose for life. It is your own and for those who follow you. So-Be-It.

“The real superstition is thinking that you can reject things unexamined.” - Robertson Davies

“If we refuse to acknowledge the past, we conceal the nature of suffering and therefore cannot understand demands in the present.” - Hugh Brody

“Blessed and joyful are those who are without fear.” - Jewish proverb

“Spending money is how you really vote in this world. You do it every day and it alone determins how the world works. It is more significant than how you cast your ballot. - Michael Linton