“I tire of being hooked, deceived, taken from. But when I consider the safer ways of giving, the impersonal media appeals, the professional mailings that would free me from contagion and protect me from seeing the whole picture, I know I must continue touching and being touched. At least I am touched by persons with names and familiar faces. I can confront. I can express disappointment to the one who has betrayed my trust. I can be angry with or embrace the one who has taken from me.
And I can grow. I can see the conditions I place on my giving, my own subtle forms of manipulation. I am confronted with my pride that requires others to conform to my image. I see my need to control, to meter out love in exchange for the responses I desire.
I will opt to be manipulated in person. For somewhere concealed in these painful interactions are the keys to my own freedom.”
– An excerpt from a reflection called “Kurt” in Robert Lupton’s book “Theirs is the Kingdom”
James 2:14-26 Generosity
Philippians 2:6-11 Self-sacrifice
In the book of James the author explicitly states that our faith is nothing without works. Good works in the Scriptures are not merely “being good” in the sense of not lying, cheating or stealing. They are most often referred to in relation to care for the poor. This generosity can be kept at a distance to avoid betrayal, as in giving to an organization or mission, or it can be personal and intimate. It would seem in the context of the Scriptures that generosity in that time necessarily required presence. We need generosity for the Kurt’s (the ones who take advantage) as much as for the ones who use our resources wisely. I had this happen once when I helped a man buy a car. It took time for both of us to find a vehicle, transfer my money, get it registered and insured. Within the week I had report that he was complaining to others about the vehicle. $5,000 plus my time to find out the patterns of pain in those less fortunate don’t magically go away. As far as I know he and his family are still blessed with the car and it is useful. But at the time I had to confront the risks with touching and being touched.
It requires a measure of self-sacrifice as well. In the early church hymn in Philippians we find that the kenotic nature of Jesus. He gave of himself in solidarity with the least, and showed the path to being in the giving of ourselves. A multi-faceted gift for both those on the margins and those with power and wealth.
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