Imagine a whole group of people standing in this never-ending winter, shivering away without coat or cloak to warm them. When asked why they are coatless, they answer, through chattering teeth, “Because Jesus said to…”
“…And if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well.”
Okay, so we’re not supposed to fight back when attacked, and we’re just supposed to roll over when taken for all we’re worth? Did Jesus mean us, or just his first century disciples?
How are we to interpret this teaching in our materially laden lives? It’s easy enough to say, “Inventory your closet and get rid of everything you don’t really need. How many sweaters do you own? How many pairs of shoes? How many coats?” I defend my overstuffed closet because I shop less, leaving more monetary resources for charity, right? Works for me…
Let’s go deeper, though. What does it mean to us to not protect our “stuff,” even our bank accounts and insurance policies? Jesus was inviting his followers into a radical dependence upon God’s provision, something he repeatedly demonstrated for them in multiplying scarce resources. I believe Jesus also invites us to sit more loosely to our material goods, to enjoy bounty when we have it, and trust in God's “enough” when we feel short.
Some of the poorest people in the continental United States live in South Dakota, on Lakota Indian reservations. And at most major life occasions – weddings, funerals, pow-wows – a family will host a give-away. And they give away whatever they must to ensure that everyone there gets something, all the way from hand-made star quilts to leftover containers. They’re not giving it away because they have so much. They’re giving it away because the values of hospitality, generosity, and community matter more than having enough, as wonderful as that would be.
I think many of us make an unspoken agreement with God – “I will give voluntarily to charities of my choice, and you won’t ask me to part with more than I want to give." We might ask in prayer today whether God signed on to that agreement. Are we willing to let the Spirit guide our relationship with our goods? The more we can do that, the more we let the Spirit guide our doing good.
I can’t preach the “give it all away” gospel – which I do believe Jesus was preaching – because I can’t live it. Yet. I am a work in progress. That doesn’t free me from continuing to live into Jesus’ invitation to freedom from need and radical generosity. Here’s a prayer I can start with:
To reflect once a week or once a month on all that I have more than enough of – home, clothes, funds, furniture, insurance, money… and give thanks. That might take awhile! And then to ask Jesus to show me who might be asking for some of what I have… and imagine in prayer handing that over to someone who needs it. See how that feels in prayer, and then maybe take it into action.
Then we can ask Jesus to give us the joy of blessing someone who needs something we have more than enough of. And trust in the “enough” of the One who gave it all away for us.
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