Wednesday, September 2, 2020

Extravagant...? -- A Newsletter piece


Back in January, during the before-Covid times, we invited people to draw a Spirit Word. This would be a word to hold in your head throughout the year. It might be something to inspire you. It might be something to reflect on. It might be a reminder that God is with you, challenging you to add something to your life.

I drew Extravagance. Since that day the word has been pinned to my office bulletin board along with the calendar. I see it every time I glance up. What might it mean for me? I would not describe myself as an exceptionally extravagant person. Even back in January I pondered what God might do within me as I reflected on that word. Then March came and the world changed.

What does extravagance mean in a year beset with a pandemic (along with the shutdown and physical distancing and everything else that COVID-19 brought us)? What does it mean in a world with a financial crunch? What does it mean in a world where we are being pushed more and more strongly to confront the reality of racism in our midst?

On the surface it seems that extravagance does not fit into 2020. 2020 has been more a year of sheltering and low-key activities, not of showiness and lavish displays. Shall I find the baskets and draw a new word?

Well no. Partly because that would defeat the purpose of having a word to reflect on for the whole year. Partly because I can’t actually remember what we did with the un-drawn words. But largely because I think God might still be calling me to be extravagant.

Just for fun, I went to Dictionary.com and looked up Extravagant. Here is what I found:

1. spending much more than is necessary or wise; wasteful: an extravagant shopper.
2. excessively high: extravagant expenses; extravagant prices.
3. exceeding the bounds of reason, as actions, demands, opinions, or passions.
4. going beyond what is deserved or justifiable: extravagant praise.
5. Obsolete. wandering beyond bounds.

I might also add that the word brings to my mind “extravaganza”, which suggests a grand show and celebration, probably linked to definition #3 above.

As I look again at those definitions and reflect on my understanding of how God calls us to live I am drawn to numbers 3 and 4. God calls me to love extravagantly, beyond what is deserved, beyond the bounds of logic or reason. God calls me to share extravagantly. In a world full of fear of not having enough, God calls me to be extravagant with what I have. Do I follow that call all the time? No. I could certainly do more of it. But that is where reflecting on this Spirit-Word has led me today.

We are called to be extravagant in our love. We can show this extravagance in our acts of Stewardship – how we share the gifts that an extravagant God has given us. We can live extravagance in our passion for justice, in working for a world where all have their needs for food and shelter and respect met.

Some people might call it wasteful and imprudent to live this extravagantly. But I am quite sure God sometimes wants us to be wasteful and imprudent, even profligate. After all, my reading of Scripture suggests that God is often all those things when dealing with God’s people.
--Gord

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