This evening I went to the VIA Rail Station in Kingston for a two and a half hour trip to Toronto. I was checking my ticket and realized that I had booked Toronto-Kingston rather than the other way around. I went to the agent who was very understanding and made the changes in a couple of minutes time and reissued me a Toronto bound ticket. A few minutes later the train arrived. A few passengers got off and about 15 of us got on, bound for TO. I am writing this as sit on this lovely smooth riding train. The sun is setting and the Ontario farmland is passing me by, rich with crops, promise, abundance and peace.
Whom am I that I deserve this? What might a Syrian think of me if he knew how I just managed this trip? I am often reminded of Walter Breuggemann's sermon, "The Myth of Scarcity and the Theology of Abundance." It is our story in so many ways. It is the myth that closes borders, reduces foreign aid, switches us from a peace-keeping nation to aggressive one, and convinces us that Canada is not big enough to receive more of the world's destitute. The theology of abundance says, there is always enough if you start with generosity. The myth makes me miserly and protective of my stuff.