Readings

FIRST LESSON

The first lesson is from Conversations with God: An Uncommon Dialogue by Neale Donald Walsch

Some people make lots of money doing what they do, others can’t make a go of it—and they’re doing the same thing. What makes the difference?

Some people have more skills than others. But what if there are two people with relatively equal skills. Both graduated from college, both at the top of their class, both understand the nature of what they’re doing, and know how to use their tools with great facility. One still does better than the other; one flourishes while the other struggles. Why?

Somebody told me there are only three things to consider when starting a new business. Location, location, and location. In other words, not “What are you going to do?” but “Where are you going to be?”

That sounds like the answer to my question. The soul is concerned only with where you are going to be. Are you going to be in a place called fear, or in a place called love? Where are you—and where are you coming from—as you encounter life?

With the two workers, one is successful and the other is not, not because of anything either is doing, but because of what both are being. One is being open, friendly, caring, helpful, considerate, cheerful, confident, even joyful in her work; the other is being closed, distant, uncaring, inconsiderate, grumpy, even resentful of what she is doing.

Suppose you were to select an even loftier state of beingness? Suppose you were to select goodness, mercy, compassion, forgiveness, understanding, love? What if you were to select Godliness? What then would be your experience? I tell you this: Beingness attracts beingness, and produces experience.

You are not on this planet to produce anything with your body. You are here to produce something with your soul. The body is merely the tool of the soul. The mind is the power that makes the body go. What you have here is a power tool, used in the creation of the soul’s desire.

SECOND LESSON

The second lesson is from the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 2, verse 12 through 34

As Jesus taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the market-places, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

Jesus sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which were worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

This Week's Sermon

Date: SUNDAY, March 22, 2009

Title: A Little Can Mean A Lot

Message Delivered By: Rev. Joe Mc Murray

At this time of the Lenten season, we always ask ourselves these or similar questions: Where is Jesus in our hearts? How do we accept Jesus in our lives? Do we really believe in the principles of Jesus’ teachings? If so, how do we implement them in our personal lives?

Sometimes we ask these questions seriously. Other times, we ask the questions because somebody tells us it’s that time of the Lenten season and we ought to be asking ourselves these questions.

And if we actually bother to ask the questions, we might be surprised at some of our answers: “Well, Jesus is in my heart on Sundays—mostly. I accept Jesus in my life, when I have time. Of course I believe in the principles of Jesus’ teachings—especially as they pertain to other people.

But when it comes to our faith and the times we become forgetful of our relationship with Jesus or we find ourselves unable to live out his message of love and justice. In fact, sometimes we find that not only is Jesus not in our heart, he’s not even in the same building.

Here’s a story about that same issue. An elderly woman fairly regularly attended a wealthy downtown church early on Sunday mornings. She was a cleaning woman who worked all through the night in a nearby office building, so coming to church right after her shift was quite challenging.

One Sunday, the invitation was given at the end of the service for people to stay after worship if they wished to become a member of the church, and so the woman stood in line to talk to the pastor.

He listened intently as she told him how she was a person of deep faith and that she was grateful for the life she had, and that she wanted to become a member of the church.

All the time she was talking, the pastor was thinking to himself, “She is so disheveled; she smells like Lysol, and her fingernails are filthy.” He knew what she did for a living but could not get beyond what others might think if they knew she picked up garbage and cleaned toilets."

So the pastor told her that he admired her determination and while he appreciated her desire to join the church, he suggested that she consider the matter more carefully. The church was not just a club, he said, but something to take very seriously. So he sent her home after instructing her to pray very intently about what membership in this church would mean, the duties and obligations of members, and then, after that, she might be able to best make her decision.

The following week, the woman returned. She told the pastor that she had prayed about it and still wanted to become a member. "I have come to this church for so many years. It is such a beautiful church, and I want to become a part of the community. I truly want to become a member."

Again the pastor told her that membership was not something that she should rush into. He suggested that she go home and pray some more, to discern whether or not she was truly called to be a member in this church.

A few weeks later, the pastor came across the elderly woman as she stood at a bus stop. He remembered now that he hadn’t seen her since the last time he sent her away to ponder about becoming a member. He approached her and said, "Hello, I haven’t seen you for a while. Is everything all right?"

"Oh, yes," she said. "I’ve been just fine, working very hard, as always.”

“That’s wonderful,” said the pastor.

The woman continued. “I want to tell you that I took to heart all the advice you gave me about prayer and discernment about whether I should become a member. In fact, I talked with Jesus about the situation, and he told me not to worry about becoming a member of your church."

"He did?" said the pastor, somewhat relieved – anything to keep from having to reject the woman outright.

"Oh, yes," she replied. "Jesus and I had quite a long talk about. He said he wasn't welcome to join your church either, and he's been trying for years."

Please pray with me:
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God, give us all that we are able to hold this Lenten season. Bring us joy when we are saddened; give us determination when we are discouraged; give us strength when we feel weary; and help us to repair the places within us where there is brokenness. Make your presence known to us as we continue to walk our Lenten journey. And may my words and all of our thoughts be filled with honor and praise to you. Amen.
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The first lesson Jesus was trying to teach the disciples through his lesson was about hypocrisy. Jesus often returned to that theme when referring to the religious establishment. And the religious establishment didn’t like it much. Without Jesus’ voice, for the most part, it seemed that the temple priests of the day were out of control and operated unchecked.

No one seemed to question them about the propriety with which they claimed leadership as the religious authority and how fair or just they were. Because the Jewish religion carried its own rigid set of cultural boundaries and laws at a higher standard than even the civilian authority of the Roman government, as with all those in high positions, abuse of power was not uncommon.

Hypocrisy was rampant. Jesus was teaching about the dangers of those who wielded power over the masses. Their proclamations and decrees would almost always give them preference over the common people to the point that another hierarchy was well-entrenched.

These were not small matters Jesus raised. You see, it was not only that these leaders received preferential treatment; it was not only that others would yield to them as a sign of deference; but there was actual harm being done to others by their selfishness and self-righteousness.

They would, in effect, stick to the letter of the law, rather than the spirit of the law.

At yesterdays latest Higgs Beach Working Group meeting, which was actually held on the Beach because it was a public forum, there were multiple interest groups who disagreed about this same thing: the letter of the law versus the spirit of the law.

One person claimed the police were not doing their job because a clothed person, who was described as “obviously drunk and passed out on the beach” was not arrested. Another person said, “The only difference between that person and someone asleep on a towel wearing a bathing suit was their manner of dress.”

Much has been made about the open container law. A sheriff’s deputy approached a homeless person who was drinking from a coffee cup with a lid, and asked what the contents of the cup contained. The man was sited for the open container law because the coffee cup had alcohol in it. But several yards down the beach, a large gathering of spring breakers were toting their Corona bottles with limes, laughing it up, and having a good time.

The question then becomes: if we have the law, shouldn’t the law be enforced fairly and equitably? Makes sense, doesn’t it?

These are some of the issues we’ve been dealing with on the Higgs Beach Working Group. When things boil down to: who is acting within the law and who is a lawbreaker?, we must ask the question: how draconian do we want to be in enforcing these laws if people are not being bothered or harmed?

Ultimately, in that respect, the issue is to eliminate harm and danger to anyone using the beach or the facilities there.

Jesus claimed the same distinction here. The widows houses were taken because they were unable to pay what was owed. But the religious law also stated that there must be respect and deference paid to the widows and orphans who often found themselves in such situations, particularly in such a patriarchal society where nearly everything was given credence because of the name of the man who led the household.

Well, which is it? Where is the line drawn? Jesus appeared to be drawing one for us.

In the case of the poor widow who gave all she had to the temple – to the temple, mind you – as her offering to God, Jesus illustrated that it was the quality of her gift – not the quantity of it – that was more indicative of her faith.

Jesus said that she contributed out of her poverty, whereas the others contributed out of their abundance. Jesus did not criticize those who contributed out of their abundance. This lesson is not to be misunderstood.

He simply highlighted the fact that a woman, herself in great need, opened her heart wide enough to imagine that someone else had a need greater than her own. And she acted on that impulse. And to carry it a step further, her impulse was based on faith. She trusted the fact that God would take care of her. She knew that even if she gave away the little she had, God would take care of her somehow.

One of the speakers today was talking about the distinction between chronic homelessness and episodic homelessness. Chronic homelessness, he said, is the condition whereby a person has lost any interest or desire to participate in the mainstream. Episodic homelessness is homelessness that is brought about by illness, loss of a job, loss of benefits, loss of a spouse who was the primary provider for the household, etc.

Speaking to the issue of chronic homelessness, he also said, “It is our job to feed the homeless. It is God’s job to change them.”

We intervene when and where we can. We do what we can. The widow did all that she could, even though it would leave her in a precarious position. She felt she needed to participate, and she had the faith that God would care for her.

Contrast this against our first reading about two individuals with the same background, knowledge and experience. This was a lesson about quality over quantity. How secure are we with not only what we do for a living but how we do our living? How do we live in this world and how do we care for one another?

And do we react from a place of fear, or do we reside in a place of love? As the widow proved with Jesus and his followers who witnessed her extreme example of generosity and faith, even little things can mean a lot. May we keep this in the forefront of our own faith journey, as we continue to move through the Lenten season.

May it be so. Amen.