Luke 6: Giveaway!
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If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.
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Native people believe that we make ourselves sick when we try to hang on to things we do not need. If we have shoes we do not wear while someone else has none, our souls are diminished.
The Spirit of Giving is common to all Native cultures. In powwows we often have giveaway dances to mark special events. When someone comes out of mourning—when someone comes home from war—when someone is honored for an achievement—when a child enters the dance ring for the first time—one might hold a special dance and a giveaway.
Sometimes powwows include an offering to help someone in need. Dancers go around the circle and those who wish to do so cast money into a blanket. No one is forced to contribute, but it is considered an honor to be able to do so.
Some of the most famous giveaways took place along the Pacific Northwest, among the Totem Pole peoples (Tlingit, Salish, Haida, and others). These folks held ceremonies called potlatches which might go on for days—sometimes weeks! The potlatch host would spread a banquet so lavish, tell stories so long, sing so many songs, and give away so many gifts, that they might be destitute by the end of the ceremony. No matter—for each of their guests was honor-bound to invite them to future potlatches, where they would try to give even more. By giving away all they had, the potlatch hosts were guaranteed to receive even more. Giving made them rich.
Jesus told a story about a man who gave a potlatch banquet in Luke 14:15-24. “Go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come!”
American authorities outlawed potlatches. Why? Well, it’s just too hard to tax people when everyone keeps giving everything away. Like Caesar Augustus in Luke 2, the government still wants to keep track of us so it can tax us.
In this Lenten season, God is calling you to give away the things you do not need. Render to Caesar that which is Caesar’s, but give away what you can. It makes your soul healthy, and it makes Caesar nervous.
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O Creator, I want to hoard that which is not mine to keep.
Grant me the grace to give like crazy so I can be rich in soul.