What Does It Mean To Have A Barn On Your Back?

Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, Illinois caught fire today in the early morning hours. I have placed a photo of its sanctuary above, which is now the current main photo of our blog. You can see the extreme beauty of its interior architecture. Though beautiful on the inside it is fairly plain from the outside. When you are in front of the building certainly you are impressed by a sense of grandeur. By all standards the building is large. It appears the fire damage done was to the roof. As is the case with all fires that are put out by fire departments, there is substantial water damage. Water damage can be as costly to repair as fire damage. We mourn for the building's damage, but mainly for the people who make up the Body of Christ who have chosen Holy Name Cathedral as their place of worship. We stand with them through the displacement they are experiencing now and for the foreseeable future. There must be much grief.

I went to the Internet to view the Holy Name web site. Like most churches now days they have made a nice effort on the Web to communicate to their neighbors, and members, what is happening at their church. There are youth group, adult, women, men, homeless and more ministries that are on going. There is an historical section telling about the building. In 1871 it was lost to the Great Chicago Fire. Four years later it was rebuilt. By 1875 services were again being held in the New Holy Name Cathedral, which is the current sanctuary shown above. Authorities do not yet know the cause of the fire. The building was being remodeled and upgraded in accordance to new building codes. It was construction workers who found the fire. This suggests that it could have caught fire due to some remodeling efforts. This possibly a sad irony. Such events are not unheard of in the construction industry. New electrical work, paints and thinners, welders and the like are often the cause of such accidents.

The Church Body has been engaged in a fund raiser. Its goal has been to raise $8,000,000 for building repair. That is eight million dollars to structurally upgrade and remodel a building which is 134 years old. Now there will be increased costs, much covered by insurance, though the Roman Catholic Church may be self insured. I do not know. If they are then the costs of remodeling (8 Million), or church out of pocket expense, will be increased by whatever the fire restoration costs may be. It is not unimaginable to think $16 million is a potential outcome. To date the fundraising effort had reach approximately four million dollars. There is a long way to go.

This brings me to "the barn on the back" and America's famous transcendental author, Henry David Thoreau. He wrote a famous book, Walden, in which he describes seeing a farmer with a barn on his back. Walden was a journal and philosophical work Thoreau wrote while attempting to live as modestly as he possibly could. It was part of an experimental effort to see how free from earthly bonds he could become. Mr. Thoreau lived there for a year. The metaphoric image of a farmer carrying a barn on his back (in some editions of the book there are drawings of this mental picture)was Mr. Thoreau pointing out that our material possessions can seem like blessing, but in reality they become more burden. The farmer's life is defined by his servicing his barn and the animals and yearly cycles that the barn represents. The barn does not serve the man. If the farmer wanted to take a vacation, change occupations, or move to another place he would either not be able to do so, he would have take with him the barn, or at least consider the barn before he made any changes in his life. This encumbrance to Thoreau was something to be feared.

How encumbered is "The Body of Christ" with its structures? How much weight did past generations place upon us? What burdens are we placing on generations yet to come? What did Christ teach on this matter? Is this issue of encumbrance and freedom something that not only affects institutions, but also our individual lives? In what ways might we properly shed encumbrances? Is spiritual freedom and physical freedom interrelated?

I used to work at State and Ohio Streets in downtown Chicago. I worked there for almost eleven years. I would frequently take walks during my lunch breaks and I would walk north a few blocks on State Street and pass Holy Name Cathedral, which is located at State and Superior Streets. It was almost always open to visitors and Mass was served there frequently. I am sure many folks, myself included, felt blessed by its presents and its beauty. There was a sense of awe when one entered. Is this for me? Am I worthy? How could people build such beauty? God must be so much more beautiful? These and other thoughts crossed my mind. Near the steps of that Cathedral drunken people were often seen laying literally in the gutter or on the sidewalk. Often I would have to step over someone. This was in the mid 1970's. Now the neighborhood has been cleaned up. To Jesus what is more precious? What is more majestic? What is made to be eternal? What is more beautiful? The building or the bum? Which could cost less to maintain?

This is a great challenge to all of us who are Followers of the Way. I am not picking on the Roman Catholic Church. All believers in Jesus Christ and His redemptive work must consider these questions and are recipients of legacies. We also build them. This issue may be a test. My prayer is that I and the rest of our small group will understand the challenge and pass this test with godly colors. What legacy will we leave?