Sun. Sep. 2, 2012 (Carl Friesen)

“I am what I love, not what I think.” Carl Friesen challenged the Descartes dictum “I think therefore I am” which gave birth to the idea that humans are primarily thinking beings. Carl said our identity is not tied to what we think; conscious rational thought is only a tiny bit of our brain’s work. We are primarily lovers – what we desire, what we long for defines who we are. Jesus calls this the “heart.” Ultimate love constitutes our identity; that which we desire above all else. What we love and desire shapes rather than our thoughts. The Pharisees ultimate love of themselves resulted in Jesus criticism of them in Matthew 23. Our ultimate love is shaped by our practices and habits. The practices (liturgies) of our society help define who we are. Carl sees a shopping mall as a space with liturgies that are formative for us. The mall is a secular cathedral that seeks to reconfigure space and time. Malls often have few windows, a labyrinth of hallways, and no clocks. Malls follow a liturgical calendar: Valentines day, mother’s day, father’s day, etc. Malls have icons – mannequins – and they have outreach - advertising. Malls shape our desires to be consumers. In contrast Jesus, in the beatitudes, calls us to be transformed, to become a certain kind of people. Being made in the image of God is a calling, not a statement of fact. Our mission is to live in the image of God; to refuse to buy into the culture, to be transformed. [HN]

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