Of mushrooms and Lent

Let me tell you a story of some people whom I personally know. It speaks to how we may behave in a very difficult economy.

On Monday I visited a physician in a small town in the center of Florida. He was born in Lebanon, and speaks with an accent. But, there he is in orange and grapefruit country, serving people. And, yes, I do mean serving. He was telling me how the falling economy has hurt the town. He showed me empty car dealerships and other empty stores. He spoke to me of how he has patients who are unable to pay him. But, as he told me, how can he not give them the “shots” they need? How can he simply say to them that if they do not have money, he cannot help them? How can he be a Christian and live with himself if he turns people away?

So, he does not turn them away. His wife is his nurse and agrees with him. But, they both need to eat. So, their patients who cannot afford to pay, give the physician and his wife of what they do have. He was telling me how he has gotten eggs, and chickens, and oranges and grapefruits. But, his favorite was the day when he was given a box of freshly harvested mushrooms. But, uhm, with only him and his wife, they do not need all the food. So, they have come up with a workable solution.

In the same town, there is a small restaurant. It is owned by a Lebanese woman. She is also Orthodox. So, the physician and his wife take the food to the restaurant. She reimburses them for it at slightly under retail rates. So, she is able to keep her restaurant open, and serving some delicious ethnic food–I had lunch there–and the physician and his wife get the cash they need to cover their office and home expenses. It is a very creative solution by some very caring people. As a result, people in economic difficulties are able to still get the primary healthcare they need.

I realize that all the healthcare problems of this country cannot be so simply solved. But, here is what is true. We are called to be a people who reflect God’s love into our communities. The people whom the physician, his wife, and the restaurant owner are helping out are in difficult financial straits through no fault of their own. All they can do is give some eggs, or even some mushrooms. But that physician and his wife have taken what little those people can provide and made it multiply, thanks to the restaurant owner. All three of those people are reflecting God’s image and likeness into a needy community.

I suspect that if an Orthodox mission were to get started there that many of the people whom those three help out would be willing to consider Orthodoxy. And, I think that they would be willing to consider Orthodoxy, in part, because they would know that they had received God’s love, and they would also know that these three people gave them God’s love while preserving their dignity.

So, here is a Lenten reflection for you. What are you doing, in a very practical way, to provide solutions? How are you demonstrating God’s image and likeness to your neighbors and to your community?