The Matrix, The Pentateuch, and Twenty-First Century Gnosticism

It is important that I tell you up front that I am going to reference a movie that for three short months in 1999 was actually discussed more than the Bible in some evangelical circles and was still discussed even several years later. I am in fact, talking about the film, The Matrix. Because of how rampantly it was discussed, trying to mine any significant and original spiritual parallel from this movie is like a mosquito sucking on a mummy. In the words of Jack Handey, “Forget it, little friend.” However, I still can't help myself. It fits too well with Gardner's sermon.

If you were perhaps, in a Benedictine monastery, or a Homeschooling farm co-op during this movie's hay-day, let me recap what the movie was about: A middle aged corporate tech geek finds out that the world as he knows it is in fact a computer program that was created by a group of artificially intelligent robots who became self aware and routed the vast majority of humanity into sustained pods in which they were cranked with artificial stimuli and nourishment as the computers simulated a life in their brain that was, in fact, a computer program called (wait for it) the Matrix. The aforementioned computer geek (Thomas Anderson, or Neo, depending on which of the said worlds you happen to be in) is contacted by a renegade group of enlightened human rebels who bring him from the illusory Matrix, into the more dismal “real world” to tell him that he is, they believe, the one who will rescue humanity from the Matrix and restore the world as it is meant to be. To adapt the Reading Rainbow tag-line: if you want to find out how the story ends, check it out for yourself.

In the later half of Exodus 17, the children of Israel simmilarly come face to face with the dual reality of their tangible struggles in the wilderness, and the ultimate, but more ethereal spiritual battle that they find themselves in the midst of. While Moses is on a mountain interceding for the people, Joshua is in the valley struggling against the Amalekites, who have been sweeping in on camel-back and killing and pillaging the weaker children of Israel who are tagging along at the end of the line. It is here that we see a glimpse of the underpinning reality that the struggles that are occurring in the “Matrix” of their day to-day reality are, in fact linked to the more spiritual reality of their dependence upon God.

The children of Israel are, like Neo, placed in a situation where they have to acknowledge the link between the spiritual/internal struggles and the physical battle. Here is a clip from the Matrix that illustrates the reality that God is confronting the Israelites with. For, Neo, this is the point in which he has to decide whether to merely acknowledge the external world or move into the realm where he is, in fact looking beyond the true struggle that is happening around him. He is being spoken to by Morpheus, who is the head-honcho of those raging against the machines.

WARNING: this clip is spooky, and, at points, gross. If this is a problem, don't watch it. Viewer discretion is advised.

As Moses stands on the mountain and offers intercessory prayers for the children of Israel, lifting up the staff that has up to this point signified the power of God which leads them into the promised land, they are forced to reckon with the world as it really is. Unlike the Matrix this world is not merely and illusion, but is rather governed in a way that is personal and powerful by a God who is totally distinct and independent of it.

There is a tendency to presume that our spiritual lives have little to do with our day-to-day experience. We believe that God is able to take care of internal issues such as emotions, or our sense of fulfillment (or the lack thereof), or how we think about our past. While all of this is in the sphere of God's domain, the Bible seems to affirm that God's power over us and help for us, is also very much about the real, physical world (the one that we experience with our senses). God has as much to do with our next meal as he does with our search for meaning. He has as much to do with our feelings as our financial life. While this “internal” and “external” distinction is one that is helpful us in thinking about our world, God doesn't seem to really distinguish between the two. He is both the God who “teaches truth in the inmost parts” (Psalm 51), and the one who created, governs and redeems the same world that we live in.

Our tendency is to either be totally concerned with the issues concerning this world or totally concerned with issues that are “beyond” this world. Our concern is to be both. Are we to be concerned with those who do not have a Bible translated in their language or with those who don't have clean water in their village? Are we to focus on our performance at work or our membership in the church? Should we love our neighbors as ourselves or love God with all our heart mind soul and strength? The answer to all of these questions is yes. Both. All of the above.

Perhaps we shouldn't pray merely for God to change our attitude towards a person who we are in conflict with, but to also change the circumstances that are causing the conflict. Perhaps we shouldn't merely advise our straying loved ones to start going to church again (where they can be "filled up"), but we should look for ways to physically demonstrate Christ's love.

Who is the hero in the battle against the Amalekites (besides God, of course)? Is it Joshua, or is it Moses? It is, once again, both. God calls us not only to the costly obedience of battling the evil, injustice, and need that is around us, but also the priestly intercession that begs him to act on our behalf. It seems that most of us are living with only one half of this story. It will make sense, only when we incorporate both. We are saints and pilgrims. Life is “doing” and “being.” We are “heavenly-minded” people and we are called to do “earthly good.” Perhaps it is time to allow Jesus to re-introduce our inner and outer world.

Rich God, Poor God

Here is a link to Gardner's sermon from last Sunday. I have a couple thoughts about it. There are probably a lot of typos. deal with it.

I normally don't read books about money, but a friend told me that the book entitled Rich Dad, Poor Dad gave some interesting insight on the differing views on money in respect to social class, so I have been listening to it on my i-pod on the way to work. The gentleman who wrote the book invented the Velcro wallet, has thrived as a real-estate mogul, and is retired at the in his forties. The book is a series of principles on essentially how to be rich that are all given in the context of contrasting the views of his two fathers: a socialist college professor, and a streetwise entrepreneur. The former, “poor dad”, although very educated, receives all of his wealth from his profession. The latter, “rich dad” (actually his best friend's dad) believes that wealth is grounded in having your money work for you. For rich dad, this means, accruing assets. At the beginning of the book, the young narrator and his friend approach rich dad and ask him to teach them how to be rich. He then proceeds to teach them in a Mr. Miyagi-esque, experiential, lets-make-you-do-all-the-wrong-things-until-you-get-it-right. Rich dad ultimately teaches the young men that how he is wealthy is grounded in the way that rich people treat money (as opposed to how poor and middle class people treat money.

Essentially, Rich Dad explains that the money of the poor and middle class goes directly into the paying of their basic living expenses, and their liabilities (depreciating assets such as a car, new furniture, etc.). Conversely, the wealthy have found a way to receive their income from their assets, and to generate more income producing assets in a growing “snow-ball” effect. So essentially, rich people are rich, because they are fine with living below their means and devoting the surplus money into accruing assets. Poor people are poor because they live at or beyond their means (and are, hence, dependent on the assets of the rich).

I know that this is a pretty basic premise, but what is interesting about it to me is not the what it says about economics, but what it says about both the human condition and the condition of the world that we find ourselves in: The desire to consume is one that implodes on itself, while the disposition of contentment almost invariably results in flourishing. There is something counter-intuitive about the way God has linked humanity to the rest of creation. Mere consumption is a loss for both man in particular and creation as a whole. It is a loss for man because it creates insatiable appetites. It is a loss for creation as a whole because it produces a demand that even she cannot supply. It is only through contentment that man is fulfilled and creation is preserved.

Interestingly enough, Gardner's sermon this past week chronicled how Israel's time in the dessert was teaching them how to flourish in the promised land. In a way that is more profound than the aforementioned “Rich Dad,” God also was trying to move Israel past the poverty of consumption into the riches of contentment. In Exodus 16, we see Israel once again in the consumption/contentment dilemma. As Gardner aptly pointed out, in Israel's training there is one skill (obedience and dependence) but there are continually changing contexts. Once again the complaint of present discomfort, and the selective nostalgia of past comfort (oddly enough, when they were in slavery).

The complaints of Israel regarding their hunger are once again met with miraculous provision. But God's provision is linked to Sabbath. That is, it is linked to a time when they can rest, explicitly where they can look back at God's provision in the past and his promises in the future. The provision of manna is gracious, but it is not enough if it does not draw us to remembrance of past grace and the hope of future grace. Our need is not the focal point of God's provision. What ultimately steals the show is God's glory. In fact, the manna is mainly a reminder that “it is God who has brought you out of the land of Egypt.”

Once again, before we are to quick to judge these grumbling idiots wandering around in the desert we must look at ourselves: Does God's continual provision serve as a reminder of his past and future deliverance? Are we aware of the things that are provided every day, or merely blind to them?

I am reminded of the half-hearted “grace” that I say before a meal in a world in which so many starve. I am reminded of how my health is something that I never thank God for; yet somehow when I am sick, I feel as if I have been robbed of something that I am entitled to. The list goes on, but what are we to make of this contentment issue? In the book I mentioned earlier, Rich Dad teaches his two mentees that ultimately, the lack of wealth (as he defines it) enslaves you to other people. Your pattern of mere consumption puts you in the control of others. It is no differently for God's children. If we can move beyond the poverty thanklessly snatching provision from God's hand, we can move into the richness of seeking his face.

-fin-

Passages for further reflection:

• Contentment with little: 2 Corinthians 8:1-15
• Learning from Israel's Discontent: 1 Corinthians 10: 1-22
  
• God's purposes in our waiting for unmet needs and desires: Deuteronomy 8:1-10
• Learning Contentment: Philippians 4:10-20
  

1. What is the “fake nostalgia” that blinds you to God's provision? Are there “good 'ole days that are in your mind that are in fact slavery?

2. Is there a particular realm of God's provision that you realize you are blinded to?

3. When is it that you feel content? What is it that produces this? Is this an an example of “eating and drinking to the glory of God?”

Overcoming Obstructions to Wilderness Worship: Affirming God's Faithfulness

This past Sunday, Gardner resumed our look at Exodus. In Exodus15:22-27 and Exodus 17:1-7, we see a nation that has finally been delivered from slavery and oppression. The continuing refrain of Moses' prophetic demand to Pharoah: "Let my people go, so that they may worship me..." (see Exodus 8:1, 8, 20, 21; 9: 1, 13; 10:3, 7, etc.). Two things are abundantly clear in the preceeding chapters of Exodus:

1. Israel's slavery is unjust, oppressive, and pretty much miserable.



2. God is delivering and leading the people from Egypt "so that they may worship."
   

What Gardner pointed out to us on Sunday, was that these two realities were ignored and obscured by the complaints of the children of Israel. When we pick up the children of Israel in Exodus 15: 22-27, it is important to remember what has just happened. They have seen God part the Red Sea so that they can pass through on dry ground, they have seen their enemies and former oppressors defeated, and they have just erupted into a million people partying in the desert to celebrate God's goodness in a way that probably would make the burning man festival look like a lame office Christmas party.

It is right after they wake up and move on from this celebration that they are found complaining that God has led them to a spring of bitter, unpotable water. God miraculously turns the cesspool into crysal-clear, "sweet", delicious, refreshing Aquafina. We then pick up on Exodus 17: 1-7 and the children of Israel once again demonstrate their remarkable short-term memory lapse regarging God's goodness as soon as they run out of water again.

When I read the Bible, I am left with two impressions. The first impression is that the God being discussed is a deliverer who is both powerful and loving in a way that I cannot begin to fathom. The second impression is that the people who are following him are...stupid. I definately mean all due respect to the "great cloud of witnesses" that is observing us as we speak--but, COME ON! My reaction to the children of Israel is simmalar to the sacreligious (but accurate) reaction that Haulden Caulfield, the main character in J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye:

I like Jesus and all, but I don't care too much for most of the other stuff in
the Bible. Take the Disciples, for instance. They annoyed the hell out of me, if
you want to know the truth. They were all right after Jesus was dead and
all, but while He was alive, they were about as much use to Him as a hole in the
head. All they did was keep letting Him down. I like almost anybody in the Bible
better than the Disciples. If you want to know the truth, the guy I like best in
the Bible, next to Jesus, was that lunatic and all, that lived in the tombs and
kept cutting himself with stones. I like him ten times as much as the Disciples...

I know that this might be a little blunt and profane. But if seeing the clueless doubting Thomas, or the carnal Corinthians, or the complaining children of Israel doesn't produce a simmilar response in you, then you are reading the Bible all wrong. In fact, as Gardner pointed out, Paul reminds the Corinthians that "these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did..."

As has been pointed out to us better than I can do here, the picture that should pop into our minds when we read about these memory-lapsed suckers is a picture of ourselves. It is a reminder that the urgency of our trials is not an excuse to neglect the importance of remembering and hoping in God's faithfulness.

This is a bit of a spiritual sucker-punch to me, as I have spent a great deal of time complaining in the past week. About difficulties at work. About different ways in which my efforts seem to fall short. About the time I can't seem to find. Most recently, about the cold that I ironically caught from my roomate because we both like to gulp orange juice straight from the carton (a juice which otherwise actually prevents colds). What has failed to enter my mind during all this complaining is that my complaining, like Israel's, stands in the way of worshipping God in the wilderness. I guess I can add my name to a long list of saints with short-term memory issues.

-fin-

Some questions (please post a comment and tell us which question you are answering):


1) What, in particular, about Israel's situation caused them to forget God's deliverance and neglect their worship to him? What are the simmilarities and differences between this and your own situation?

2) What are your favorite things to complain about? How does this undermine God's faithfulmess?

3) I find, personally, that some of my most stimulating conversations involve complaining to or with someone. How can we be empathetic, yet point people to the hope of their deliverance?

4) What is the difference between pleading our case to God (see Psalms 13) and the complaining about God?

5) This is a video of Joel Osteen, who has like a gazillion people in his church (the sanctuary was formerly the arena that the Houston Rockets play in). He certainly has a message of hope to people in the midst of "wilderness wanderings". Is there anything missing? If so, what?

Whatever bad we have to say about this guy, I think we can all agree that he has great teeth.

I love that new blog smell...

For those of you who have stumbled upon this blog...it is primarilly a means of a for those who attend a Tuesday night Bible study at our church to stay up with what is going on and to begin the discussion that we will later continue on Tuesday night, 7pm, right at this location. All are welcome to join our discussion online or in person.

We are discussing a sermon that we have all heard. You can find it here, if you are interested.