After a very busy Holy Week, the family and I went to Washington to visit our best friends from seminary. After enjoying their small town for a while we all packed up and drove to Seattle. We pushed the strollers through down town and ate seafood, looked at the space needle, and checked out a children’s museum. But the best part of the trip was Pike’s Place Market. This market had fresh flowers, produce, meat, cheese, pastries, and fish. The market is known for a particular stand where men in rubber pants fling fish over the counter. We were told that we missed seeing the Globetrotters by a few hours. The market is also known as the birthplace of Starbucks. I’m not sure about you, but I have a love/hate relationship with Starbucks. I love their mochas and frappuccinos, but I hate the cost and I can live without the calories. On our last morning in town I was sent to get doughnut holes from one of the pastry stands. It was raining (the only time it rained on us in Seattle), so I went by myself. The kids had woken up so early that the doughnuts weren’t ready yet. So I decided to find the original Starbucks.
As I entered the coffee shop, I heard a rather loud customer suggesting that he should work as a quality control rep for Starbucks because he had been to every single one in Seattle (no small task) and visited others whenever he was out of town. I thought the man might need to lay off of the espresso for a while. I tuned him out while I looked at the mugs. As he was walking out another man came in and placed his order. The barista (fancy name for someone who serves coffee at Starbucks) said that if this man would commit to calling his mother on Mother’s Day that his coffee would be free. The young man looked puzzled and the barista said that the loud man who had just walked out had paid for the coffee for the next fifty people that came in and said that they would call their mothers on Mother’s Day. No one knew when Mother’s Day was, so I joined in and said that it was May 10 (husbands and children – this is your reminder). I ordered my coffee and noticed that the loud man was talking on his phone outside. As the other man and I walked out together we thanked him for the coffee and he said something to the effect of, “That’s what I’m all about, making sure people have a good day.”
I wondered why someone would pay for fifty cups of coffee. Apparently the other man was curious too. He asked why anyone would do that. We wondered if he knew that people like me like coffee, but don’t like paying for it. We wondered if he really appreciated his own mother and wanted others to do the same, or if had some regrets about not talking to his mother and didn’t want anyone else to make the same mistake. We wondered if he had watched the movie “Pay it Forward” and this was his way of helping people start the day off on the right foot. The other man thought that this was a strange way to help others. And truth be told, so did I. I wondered if there was a better way to use this money for those who truly need it (because no one really needs an overpriced cup of coffee).
I knew there was a lesson to be learned here, but I wasn’t sure what it was. The oddity of the act prevented me from suggesting that maybe this was done because the man was religious – this could have started a conversation that may have led to an opportunity for evangelism. As I was about to move the conversation in that direction the man excused himself and walked to the stand where he worked. An opportunity missed. I learned a lesson, but I thought there was more to be learned here.
I started to think about this man’s generosity and how it raised people’s curiosity. We wondered why he was so generous. Shouldn’t we Christians live our lives in such a way that people wonder why we are so different? Shouldn’t we be just as generous? According to all my friends who have worked in the food service industry, Protestants are known to be penny-pinchers. I have known waiters that hated working on Sundays because all of the churchgoers would come in and leave lousy tips. While I think we are called to be good stewards of our money, what does it say when non-Christians are more generous than Christians? Perhaps one of the lessons we can learn from this free cup of coffee is that we are called to be generous and when people wonder why we can let them know that it is because we believe God has been so generous to us.
As I thought more about this strange event, I began to connect this story with the anointing of Jesus. Jesus is sitting at a table with his disciples when a woman comes in and pours perfume on Jesus’ feet. It seems like a waste, like paying for overpriced coffee. In fact, the people around Jesus suggest that this perfume could have been sold and the proceeds given to the poor. I know I thought the money that paid for my cup of coffee could have been used for a lot of different things. But Jesus reprimands those that question this woman and says that wherever the gospel is preached this story will be told. This story is told in all four gospels. The coffee was a gift, just as the perfume was a gift. The first prepared people for a great day, the second prepared Jesus for his burial. As we prepare for a new day, let us celebrate the new life we have received as God’s gracious gift.
For those of you that don’t know, I am a huge movie buff. My mother was a movie critic, so it comes with the territory. I love to look at the way Christianity influences culture and how culture interprets Christianity. Sometimes we are better able to connect with a biblical theme when we can see it on the silver screen or our television. Sometimes we can better understand what we believe when we discuss something that strikes a chord with us or when something rubs us the wrong way. It is important to see how our faith influences the way we view the world. 
