Last week I wrote

Receiving

     As newbies in the neighborhood and the community, we’ve been very needful creatures. We have had to ask for help a lot. And it is tough, but we need to learn how to receive. I like to say that the mark of healthy community is reciprocity: everyone gives and everyone receives.

     Recently I was working on a project with a man in the fellowship, and he said that was the issue when Peter was refusing to have his feet washed. Peter liked being a giver, but didn’t want to be needy or receive – it was humiliating (or humbling or something along those lines). I know that little story from the last supper means other things as well, but among other things, Peter liked being on top. Of course Jesus was always working on an upside down Kingdom, where the least are the greatest and where the receivers are making big contributions – the weak teach us about the Kingdom in ways the strong never will. But I still don’t like the feeling of being weak, needing help, being vulnerable.