Okay, start here, the pronunciation is “lan’yap. In the South, especially in Louisiana, this is a common word to hear. What does it mean? Well, you can go to the dictionary, but it means “a little something extra”. Something not expected, a true gift. Think baker’s dozen (thirteen doughnuts instead of 12 for you young people).
Now that the language lesson is over, let’s think about this idea. Have you ever given a lagniappe? Have you ever given a little more than was necessary or expected? What about at work, have you ever given a little more to the task? Ever give your significant other a little something extra? This is a hard tradition to imagine in a world that is dedicated to materialism and getting all you can.
In life, we always have choices. The greatest choice for Christians is whether to give up or not. Sound strange? It shouldn’t, because we are called to give up who we are in favor of who Christ showed us we could be. This is not easy because we are asked to be completely opposite of what society expects us to be. What we have been taught we should be.
In monastic terms, this is called “conversion of manners” and that is a good way to see it. But to do this means you have to let go of all that you have been taught you should be, all that you think you should be and become who we are all called to be, the Living Word to the world. This is scary stuff to all of us.
Maybe this will help, the Eternal Father offers each of us a lagniappe. A little something extra that isn’t expected or earned. We call that grace. Grace is the lagniappe that we don’t expect as we let go of who we should be and recognize who we are created to be. And, we cannot see it until we “give up” all of our shoulds and accept who we actually are, God’s good creation, every one of us!
And here’s the rest of the thought. We walk through a life and a world filled with lagniappes given by God and only when we see it from God’s point of view do we actually notice. There’s that conversion of manners again. Add to that this question: when was the last time you or I gave a lagniappe A little bit extra that no one notices until after you are gone?
TMM