Stories in scripture tell us of desperately poor people who (inexplicably) give away the last little bit of money or food they have – literally threatening their survival. The only possible outcome of a choice like this seems to be death – no money, no shelter, no food. It’s inexplicable to us in our culture, from a material standpoint. But there must be a deep spiritual reality or emotional connection which drives this giving, something which overcomes the existential fear of there “not being enough;” something I think we need to rediscover.
Actually there are two realities: (1) Even when we do not know to whom we give, when we are “paying it forward,” a penny here, a penny there, there is a profound human connection we feel when we touch another life. Even the poorest among us need to feel that. (2) We are not alone. In our greatest “aloneness,” our deepest pain, God the Great Giver and the Great Lover, is present … and someone will leave pennies, and even morsels to eat for our bodies and souls. Believe it.
Peace and grace,
Pastor Carol
