Lent 2C (Philippians 3:17-4:1)

​Idolatry is the direct opposite to the very first of the Ten Commandments: “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of bondage. You shall have no other gods but me.” (BCP p. 350) If we were to ask who all the other gods are, we might think of gods and goddesses from Greek mythology. But this is missing the point. These gods are much more noticeable, and realistically speaking, most of us neither believe in nor worship them. The gods St. Paul is warning us not to believe in are the ones we create for ourselves to serve our wants and needs. These gods are made by us and created in our own image. We become god-creators, which makes us higher than gods. Idolatry is always self-idolatry. 

St. Paul describes idolatry quite graphically: “...their god is the belly.” (Phil 3:19) Whose belly is he talking about? It’s the belly of idol creators. A belly is an effective metaphor for how we create our idols in our image according to our unfiltered desires. We create not only our idols but also ourselves, who we are, by feeding the belly. As I observe one infant at home, whose name is Henry, there are a couple of behaviors that I need to pay attention to. Of course, crying is one thing to keep the peace, and the second thing is to make sure he doesn’t put inedible and unclean objects into his mouth. This latter behavior seems to continue even when we become older in a different form. As infants eat, their bodies grow as well as their sense of self. Notice toddlers refer to themselves as a third person or confuse a sense of you and me that they have not developed to differentiate themselves. 

We grown-ups wouldn’t literally put things into our mouth to check if it’s edible but would feed ourselves with sensual desires or things that would quench our thirst or fulfill our craving or ideas about who we can become. This feeding of the belly is first physical, then psychological, and spiritual. The basis of the belly is a constant thirst or craving that originates from the unsatisfactory nature of the human mind. No matter how much we feed ourselves with, be it wealth, fame, identity, recognition, honor, or privilege, the belly is always deprived. Even if it is filled, it will feel thirst, hunger, and the existential void which doesn’t seem to be satisfied as long as life goes on. We thus become what we eat, and our god may become the belly. We obey the belly. More specifically, we are shaped by what the belly craves. 

Our first task is to see what we are feeding onto. Know what we crave and cling to. Most of the time, we are on autopilot that we don’t even recognize our own craving. We simply do and act at the will of the belly. Whatever feeds us is what we identify ourselves with which is how we define who we are. For example, Mastercard’s “Priceless” commercials lure consumers that they will be able to experience something priceless and thus can themselves become priceless. But in reality, credit card holders don’t own anything but banks, and they are priceless borrowers. What about cars? Consumers are not merely buying a car, say, Tesla. In their financial transaction, they gain the identity of Tesla owner. 

What matters is to be aware of and attentive to what we are actually doing. Our desire is driven by the belly’s craving. Once we become more conscious of our habit of craving and clinging, we cultivate a different desire to transform the belly’s craving into something that can last longer. The way to cultivate is through the persistent practice of contemplation in which Christ “will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself.” (Phil 3:21) In deep silence, we learn to create a gap between our self-images driven by the belly and that we truly are. Transformation is born out of that gap. 

There’s this latest Grubhub advertisement posted all over subways. (Grubhub is an online food ordering company.) It says, “Meatitation: a sense of calm that comes from being transported to your umami place” This advertisement captures the belly’s main function, and its sense of calm doesn’t last but intensifies our dissatisfaction. I don’t think any of us want to dwell on meatitation but meditation in Christ, which is how we stand firm in the Lord. The belly, after all, can find its perpetual fulfilment through the Body and Blood of Christ. Amen.