Confronting Mammon With Jesus was our series for Lent 2022. Classes were held Sundays before worship for 7 weeks, Feb 27 through April 10. Sermons on these Sundays were also rooted in the Gospel texts each week.
The syllabus and readings are listed below. You can also download a printable version of the syllabus.
(Thanks to pastor and author Melissa Florer-Bixler for sharing her syllabus with us. We’ve adapted it slightly for our class.)
Week 1 (Feb 27): Intro to Mammon
- Matthew 6:19-24
- Theology of Money by Philip Goodchild, “Introduction”
- “Mammon and Thanksgiving” by Herbert McCabe in God, Christ, and Us, 133-138
- “Capitalism is not Natural” by Rodney Clapp in Plough
- Class Recording from Week 1
- Sermon from Week 1: Get Behind Me, Mammon!
Week 2 (Mar 6): Does Desire Shape Mammon or Mammon Shape Desire?
- Luke 16:19-31 – The Rich Man and Lazarus
- Luke 18:18-30 – The Rich Young Man
- Jesus and the Politics of Mammon by Hollis Phelps, 23-43
- “Who is the Rich Man” by Clement of Alexandria, II, III, XIV, XV, XVI
- “Poverty and God” by Herbert McCabe in God, Christ, and Us, 53-57
- Sermon from Week 2: The Rich Man and Lazarus
- Class Recording from Week 2
Week 3 (Mar 13): Paying Taxes
- Mark 12:13-17 – Render to Caesar
- “Render to Caesar” by Herbert McCabe in The McCabe Reader, 345-352
- The Politics of Jesus by Obery Hendricks, 62-64
- The Economy For the Common Good
- Sermon from Week 3: Give to God What Belongs to God
- No class recording from week 3 – forgot to record, sorry!
Week 4 (Mar 20): Religious Offerings
- Luke 20:45-47, 21:1-6 – The Widow’s Offering
- The Politics of Jesus by Obery Hendricks, 124-131
- “The labor that pays my salary” by Isaac Villegas in The Christian Century
- “A Prayer for the Poor” by David Bentley Hart in Church Life Journal
- Sermon from Week 4: God’s Justice isn’t Powerblind
- Class Recording from Week 4
Week 5 (Mar 27): Economics and Social Relations
- Luke 7:26-50 – The Sinful Woman Interrupts a Meal
- Credit and Faith by Philip Goodchild, 29-37
- “Why Black Marxism? Why Now?” by Robin D.G. Kelley in The Boston Review
- Sermon from week 5: Turning the Tables On Power
- Class Recording from Week 5
Week 6 (Apr 3): Dishonest Wealth and Debt: Undermining Mammon from Within
- Luke 19:11-27
- Luke 16:1-12
- Jesus and the Politics of Mammon by Hollis Phelps, 151-164
- “The Debts that Bind” by Wen Zhuan in Dissent Magazine
- “The Long Fight to Cancel Student Loans” by Ryann Liebenthal in The New Republic
- Sermon from Week 6: Using Mammon to Make Friends
- Class Recording from Week 6
Week 7 (Apr 10): Accumulation, Not Consumption
- James 5.1-6, Matthew 25.31-46
- Jesus and the Politics of Mammon by Hollis Phelps, 135-151
- “Wealth and Poverty” by Nicholas Lash in Seeing in the Dark, 65-69
- “It’s Basically Just Immoral to Be Rich” by A.Q. Smith in Current Affairs Magazine
- Sermon from Week 7: A Relational Economy Confronts Mammon
- Class Recording from Week 7
