When people in my Anabaptist/Mennonite tradition were hounded and persecuted all over Europe, many became destitute and homeless refugees because of their faith.
Those who survived were generally known as plain and simple people content to live without the trappings of wealth and luxury. They never expected to enjoy greater comforts, a higher social class or more personal comfort or conveniences than the homeless Galilean they claimed as their Master and Lord.
In other words, as sojourners and pilgrims on earth, most of my forebears chose tourist class rather than first class lifestyles.
Unfortunately, as Mennonites became more tolerated in places like the Netherlands, in pre-communist Russia and later in the New World--and then began to become far wealthier--all that began to change. This is all too evident today, not only in the kinds of elaborate homes and lifestyles many North American Mennonites now claim as their right, but in the structures and accommodations they insist on in the institutions that bear their name.
For example, in the 100 years of my alma mater Eastern Mennonite University's history, it has gone from being an ultra modest, church-supported campus operating on a shoe string budget and with spartan facilities to now being a multi-million dollar institution with state of the art facilities and amenities.
In its first several decades, faculty and staff knew they would have to supplement their incomes with other part time work if they were to be able to support their families. Yet they were willing to do this because they were committed to a life of sacrifice and service, and the struggling young school attracted students who tended to share those values.
Our Mennonite colleges now assume students will not enroll unless they are offered gourmet cafeteria fare, top of the line dormitory accommodations and state of the art academic and athletic programs.
Our local Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community reflects the same trend. VMRC is in the process of razing some of the brick duplexes that were built for retirees over three decades ago in order to build more expansive ones to take their place. As far as I know, the ones they are tearing down and replacing are perfectly sound structurally.
Why? It's what the market demands. Increasingly wealthy seniors expect state of the art accommodations.
But what is that saying about the state of our faith? And what does it say about our allegiance to Jesus?
Those who survived were generally known as plain and simple people content to live without the trappings of wealth and luxury. They never expected to enjoy greater comforts, a higher social class or more personal comfort or conveniences than the homeless Galilean they claimed as their Master and Lord.
In other words, as sojourners and pilgrims on earth, most of my forebears chose tourist class rather than first class lifestyles.
Unfortunately, as Mennonites became more tolerated in places like the Netherlands, in pre-communist Russia and later in the New World--and then began to become far wealthier--all that began to change. This is all too evident today, not only in the kinds of elaborate homes and lifestyles many North American Mennonites now claim as their right, but in the structures and accommodations they insist on in the institutions that bear their name.
For example, in the 100 years of my alma mater Eastern Mennonite University's history, it has gone from being an ultra modest, church-supported campus operating on a shoe string budget and with spartan facilities to now being a multi-million dollar institution with state of the art facilities and amenities.
In its first several decades, faculty and staff knew they would have to supplement their incomes with other part time work if they were to be able to support their families. Yet they were willing to do this because they were committed to a life of sacrifice and service, and the struggling young school attracted students who tended to share those values.
Our Mennonite colleges now assume students will not enroll unless they are offered gourmet cafeteria fare, top of the line dormitory accommodations and state of the art academic and athletic programs.
Our local Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community reflects the same trend. VMRC is in the process of razing some of the brick duplexes that were built for retirees over three decades ago in order to build more expansive ones to take their place. As far as I know, the ones they are tearing down and replacing are perfectly sound structurally.
Why? It's what the market demands. Increasingly wealthy seniors expect state of the art accommodations.
But what is that saying about the state of our faith? And what does it say about our allegiance to Jesus?
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