ROOTED - Saturday, July 26, 2025
Psalm 82:3
3 Vindicate the weak and fatherless;
Do justice to the afflicted and destitute.
Reflection: Mall of America
Written By: Pastor Jesse Caro
On our final day in Minneapolis, we spent a few hours at the Mall of America. If you have not been there, you are missing out. It is spectacularly big. It would take most people a full day to walk through it. Famously it has a theme park in the middle with multiple rides and roller coasters. Again, it is spectacular. I was looking forward to it because I remembered the LEGO store there (I went to the Mall years ago with Micah). The LEGO store is pretty big, and I love LEGO. But more importantly, I was hoping to get pieces from the “pick a brick wall.” Every LEGO store has a wall with bins of different pieces. You can fill up a box with pieces for $17, and I was looking for pieces so that I can finish a Christmas village landscape for my LEGO display during the holidays. I found a lot of pieces I could use for a winter scene. Mall of America was a great place to get my LEGO!
I was, however, struck by this Mecca of a Mall… a shrine to spending money in excess. I spent $40 on LEGO, for goodness’ sake, just in order to make a landscape of LEGO for a winter village. Three stories of shopping. Shop till you drop! Yet we spent the week feeding the poor and being reminded of things such as food waste and the disparities between rich and poor. For me at least, the contrast between the Mall of America and our mission was striking. On the one hand, I do not feel guilty for the blessing of God on my life. I rejoice in it and am grateful. I am careful to not be guilted for the favor of God. On the other hand, I should remember that others are not as fortunate. I am blessed for certain. Conversely, I need to remember the less fortunate. I am glad we went to Mall of America, and we had a great time. God is good. At the same time, I am aware that others are less fortunate to have the means we have in America, and I am instructed that I have to do better to serve the less fortunate. How do you deal with this tension?
Prayer
Lord, may we be on the one hand grateful for your blessing, and on the other hand sensitive to the needs of those around us.