When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God. Leviticus 19:9-10
“Ruth works as a day laborer in the field. All day long she gleans to feed herself and her elderly widowed mother-in-law. Ruth faces exile, displacement, poverty; she takes on the chores reserved for men, bearing the sun, hunger, and cold; she valiantly develops what is considered to be her only possibility. She does not want to become a burden to anyone; she cannot and will not be idle. So she taks on the economic task on the basis of her possibilities: to work for another.”
Carmiña Nevia Velasco in “Women and Neoliberalism” in God’s Economy: Biblical Studies from Latin America edited by Ross and Gloria Kinsler (Maryknoll: Orbis, 2005) 121.
Reading this book by Latin American scholars combined with serving this week in a poor country like Guatemala has been eye-opening for me. I am seeing a new dimension of generosity. The biblical character, Ruth, was poor, but she could still be generous. She could work to care for her mother-in-law. I am learning that her choice mirrors the decisions that many people make in the majority world.
I visited Finca Filadelfia, a coffee plantation (pictured above), and took a tour with my colleagues. When I saw the workers preparing for harvest time which is coming soon I thought of Ruth. Do you know anyone who does not want to be burden on anyone but could use a break? How might you help ease the load of someone who works to care for others? Could you empower them with tools to bless those they serve? Speaking of empowering…
Today through Saturday, GTP will host the second cohort of Journey of Empowerment, or JOE, for Guatemala. To multiply faithful stewards, I will facilitate with two people who attend the first cohort last year. Pray for us. God has brought together a great group of about two dozen influential workers. Many labor for the poor, the blind, and other groups who glean. Pray the retreat is a life-changing adventure for all. Thanks.