Empty Pockets Full
Monday, August 6, 2007
In church the other night, Pr. Kristie shared a story about a disabled Appalachian man and his family living under conditions of extreme poverty. One day a welfare worker came to visit him. As she approached the man's shanty of a home, she could see that he was busy canning. Greeting him, she learned that fortune had visited his family in the form of a pesky grizzly that had been prowling around their property. With a rifle handy, the man was able to shoot and kill the bear. Then, after some careful bartering and trading for jars, he and his wife were able to preserve some much-needed protein for the winter, an often-diminished staple in their diet. After explaining all this to the welfare worker, the man thrust a large jar of bear meat into her arms, smiled and said, "Here, this is for you." She tried to refuse the gift, reminding him that he needed it more than she. He said, "No, keep it. As long as I can give something away, I ain't poor. "
The practice of generosity is about creating space. We see our limits and we extend them continuously, which creates an expansiveness and spaciousness of mind that's deeply composed. --Sharon Salzberg
One of my favorite bible passages is about this very idea. . .extending our limits. (1 Kings 17:1-16) It's the story of Elijah and "The Widow at Zarephath." The story begins with Elijah hiding in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, during a severe drought of which God foretold: "There will be nether dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word." Elijah hid there under God's direction, and ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and evening, and he drank freely from the brook. (How's that for "fast food?") When the brook dried up, God commanded Elijah to go to Zarephath to find a widow who could help him.
When he finds the widowed-woman at the town gate, gathering sticks, he calls to her. "Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?" As she was going to get it, he added, "And bring me, please, a piece of bread." (So bold on his part!)
She replied, "As surely as the Lord your God lives, I don't have any bread--only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it--and die."
Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land.'"
The woman went away and did as Elijah told her. And miraculously there was food every day for Elijah and the woman and her family. Just as God had said, the flour was NOT used up and the jug of oil did NOT run dry!
I love this story! I'm amazed at the way God extends this woman's limitations, simply because she was faithful to meet someone else's need. Not only did her food supply increase, but Elijah--this prophet from God--remained as a guest in her home for a season. What a blessing and added help to someone who desperately needed it!
In the past several years I have struggled with how to remain generous in a season of drought. When simply making rent from month to month is a challenge, it can be hard to navigate birthdays, holidays, simple outings with friends, and such. I've been forced to be creative. Not just in the artistic sense (making gifts and what not) but creative in the way that the above quote describes: "We see our limits and we extend them continuously..."
The Widow of Zarephath's compassion and character in the face of suffering is an example to me. In little ways, I've tried to learn from her, practicing generosity even when the numbers in my checkbook inspire self-protective panic. Elijah (and ultimately God's) words in this story come back to me time and time again, "Don't be afraid."
Sometimes I'm Elijah and God gives me the courage to ask for help. Other times I'm the brave widow, and God recreates my view of what's possible.
Whatever we treasure for ourselves separates us from others; our possessions are our limitations. --Rabindranath Tagore
The practice of generosity is about creating space. We see our limits and we extend them continuously, which creates an expansiveness and spaciousness of mind that's deeply composed. --Sharon Salzberg
One of my favorite bible passages is about this very idea. . .extending our limits. (1 Kings 17:1-16) It's the story of Elijah and "The Widow at Zarephath." The story begins with Elijah hiding in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, during a severe drought of which God foretold: "There will be nether dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word." Elijah hid there under God's direction, and ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and evening, and he drank freely from the brook. (How's that for "fast food?") When the brook dried up, God commanded Elijah to go to Zarephath to find a widow who could help him.
When he finds the widowed-woman at the town gate, gathering sticks, he calls to her. "Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?" As she was going to get it, he added, "And bring me, please, a piece of bread." (So bold on his part!)
She replied, "As surely as the Lord your God lives, I don't have any bread--only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it--and die."
Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land.'"
The woman went away and did as Elijah told her. And miraculously there was food every day for Elijah and the woman and her family. Just as God had said, the flour was NOT used up and the jug of oil did NOT run dry!
I love this story! I'm amazed at the way God extends this woman's limitations, simply because she was faithful to meet someone else's need. Not only did her food supply increase, but Elijah--this prophet from God--remained as a guest in her home for a season. What a blessing and added help to someone who desperately needed it!
In the past several years I have struggled with how to remain generous in a season of drought. When simply making rent from month to month is a challenge, it can be hard to navigate birthdays, holidays, simple outings with friends, and such. I've been forced to be creative. Not just in the artistic sense (making gifts and what not) but creative in the way that the above quote describes: "We see our limits and we extend them continuously..."
The Widow of Zarephath's compassion and character in the face of suffering is an example to me. In little ways, I've tried to learn from her, practicing generosity even when the numbers in my checkbook inspire self-protective panic. Elijah (and ultimately God's) words in this story come back to me time and time again, "Don't be afraid."
Sometimes I'm Elijah and God gives me the courage to ask for help. Other times I'm the brave widow, and God recreates my view of what's possible.
Whatever we treasure for ourselves separates us from others; our possessions are our limitations. --Rabindranath Tagore
