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Monday, November 15, 2010
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Lessons from Native Alaskans
Today I had the wonderful privilege of hearing a young man who is a park ranger and an Alaskan Native speak about Sitka, Alaska and his people who have been here for 10,000 years. He was an exceptional communicator. His passion for his heritage and sharing drew me to hang on his every word. When he was trying to convey a concept he would use a story that immediately got his point across.
One of the images of the Tlinglit culture is the potlatch. When someone dies many people come to offer comfort to the family through a hug, bringing gifts of food, just being with them and other forms of comfort. A year after that family member has died - they gather as much as they can in the way of gifts. When they have enough gifts they then have a potlatch and invite everyone who offered any form of comfort at the time of their relatives death. At the potlatch each person that has been invited comes forward and the comfort they offered at the time of the family member's death is remembered with some image (your hug felt like a great warm coat of comfort around me) and then a gift is given to them.
The idea of a potlatch is to give away all that you have. To empty yourself to those who have been kind to you with a gift and a word of what their gesture of comfort meant. Think about that in contrast to how we are in our american culture. The goal of many lives is to get as much as we possibly can and then to keep it for ourselves.
It seems to me that the potlatch is certainly a lot closer to the model that Jesus gave us when he totally emptied himself for us. We are called to be for the world Christ's presence. How is that possible if we have our hands so full acquiring worldly possessions? When our hands are full grabbing all we can we don't even have ourselves open for God's blessings to flow in to our lives.
I pray I can be more like a potlatch and empty myself for God. I have a long way to travel but with God all things are possible.
One of the images of the Tlinglit culture is the potlatch. When someone dies many people come to offer comfort to the family through a hug, bringing gifts of food, just being with them and other forms of comfort. A year after that family member has died - they gather as much as they can in the way of gifts. When they have enough gifts they then have a potlatch and invite everyone who offered any form of comfort at the time of their relatives death. At the potlatch each person that has been invited comes forward and the comfort they offered at the time of the family member's death is remembered with some image (your hug felt like a great warm coat of comfort around me) and then a gift is given to them.
The idea of a potlatch is to give away all that you have. To empty yourself to those who have been kind to you with a gift and a word of what their gesture of comfort meant. Think about that in contrast to how we are in our american culture. The goal of many lives is to get as much as we possibly can and then to keep it for ourselves.
It seems to me that the potlatch is certainly a lot closer to the model that Jesus gave us when he totally emptied himself for us. We are called to be for the world Christ's presence. How is that possible if we have our hands so full acquiring worldly possessions? When our hands are full grabbing all we can we don't even have ourselves open for God's blessings to flow in to our lives.
I pray I can be more like a potlatch and empty myself for God. I have a long way to travel but with God all things are possible.
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