A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on. Mark 12: 41-44

Early last Friday morning, as I drove up to the arrivals area of Dullas International Airport, I couldn't believe that the South African team had finally arrived. Before I knew it, out came the whole team. There was Estelle, then Ingrid, Olwen, Aletta, Sylvia, Margie, Thabo, and Lucy. For those I knew from Walkerville, it was if time had stood still. Six years had not passed by. As we began to tell each other the stories of our lives and the lives of others still in South Africa, so many memories of our time in South Africa danced in my mind's eye. As we began to host our guests, I couldn't help by hold myself to the seemingly impossible standard of South African hospitality. What I remember of South African hospitality is the incredibly generous and giving nature of all South Africans. And what particularly sticks in my mind is the amazing generosity of those who have so little in terms of material possessions. As Bishop Peter, my bishop in South Africa, told me when I arrived: "You will not be prepared for the generosity of the poor." And he was so very right. Time and again, when we traveled to some of the township and informal settlement churches in the Diocese of Christ the King, we were treated as honored guests. There was always a feast after the service--with cooked pumpkin, 3 bean salad, beetroot, lamb curry, and a dessert of cake and custard. The honored guests always ate first--even though the cooks had been working since early morning and most had not had a meal of meat for a few days. On Sunday, most had not eaten all morning, since they would not eat before communion. Stomachs were hungry, but hearts were already full. For these brothers and sisters in Christ were so very rich--rich in love. The love just poured into the stark and simple room off the church. I always left feeling full of hope in a place that, at first glance, would seem to be one of the most God-forsaken places in the world.

I think that these giving South Africans innately understood what Esther de Waal calls "Living with the World." She writes:

I find that I have to think about the material things in my life, and that I am being called to establish a right relationship with all my possessions. I see myself as a steward, holding these things in trust, enjoying but not owning them...When I do remind myself that all these things belong to God and not to me. I find that my sense of generosity for the extraordinary generosity of God brings with it also a sense of freedom. All things are on loan, all things come from God. (Living with Contradiction, p. 73)

Like most of the things of God, the paradox seems to be that the less we have, the more we are able to live into right relationship with the world. It seems to make no sense. But we all know that it is true. That is why it is so vital for those who are blessed with great material gifts to establish real relationships with those who have less. And instead of thinking that the only way to be in relationship is to give someone with less more material possession and wealth---try this: look for what you can learn about your own possessions from one who has less. Indeed, you may find that you are the one who learns what giving really means. And as you learn how to let go, you also receive the greatest gift of all--God's abundant love. A love that can never be stolen or lost. A love abundant for ever and for all.

Text: Mark 12:38-44

Pondering: Has someone who has less "of the world" taught you about how to live into a right relationship with your possessions? If not, who do you know who could serve as your teacher? Or might you be the teacher?

In Christ's Love,

The Rev. Martha N. Macgill