The Wealth of the Church

I'm reading Redeeming the Past My journey from Freedom Fighter to Healer by Anglican Priest Michael Lapsley.  Lapsley was an anti-apartheid activist who lived in Zimbabwe while we were there.  He lost both hands and an eye to a letter bomb sent to him by the South African Government.  I never met him but remember the news when this happened.

Speaking of the Suffering Servant passage in Isaiah, Lapsley observes:

As I reflected on these passages of scripture and allowed them to do their healing work, it began to dawn on me that disability is actually the norm of the human condition.  Imperfection, incompleteness, brokenness--these are universal human experiences, and those of us with dramatic physical disabilities are mirrors for what is true of the whole human family.

He then tells this story:

There is a Christian martyr from the second century, St. Lawrence, who was commanded by Roman persecutors to produce the wealth of the church as tribute.  Of course, they were expecting gold and silver.  Instead, St. Lawrence brought the very old, the sick, the blind, and those who couldn't walk, and said, 'Here, here is the treasure of the church.'

Let us count the wealth in our churches today.