Proper 27 (C, E)
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VI, Cycle B
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17 (C)
This is all very strange. Ancient customs no doubt have their basis in necessities of the time, but here we must wonder at this rather strange transaction. We read of Ruth lying down next to Boaz, whom presumably she has never actually met before. Then we pick things up later when she is about to have a child. It reminds me of the movies of an earlier era when censors were picky about certain scenes, so we'd see the couple who were attracted looking furtively toward the bedroom, then in the next scene, they'd be having breakfast.
Frankly, I'm torn between a certain responsibility to suggest a sermonic use for this passage on the one hand, and the knowledge that I would never use this as a preaching text myself on the other hand. The Interpreter's Bible commentary observes that it all hinges on whether you think Naomi was a straight arrow, in which case we could talk about clever tactics to get what you want, or whether Naomi was privately thinking of her own best interests, in which case we could talk about mixed motives. However, my own inclination is to view this as a quaint insight into some ancient customs which appear odd to us, and use the other assigned passages for this Sunday.
Lesson 1: 1 Kings 17:10-16 (RC); 1 Kings 17:8-16 (E)
Lesson 2: Hebrews 9:24-28 (C, RC, E)
A slightly confusing musing on the priestly role of Christ, this sees Christ as having enacted the traditional role of the priest in a perfected way, going not into a temple or otherworldly "Holy Place," but into heaven, and making a sacrifice, not of an animal, but of himself. The purpose being to save us all from sin. The verse which most urgently calls out to us for interpretation is verse 27: "Everyone must die once, and after that be judged by God." Actually, verse 28b is also provocative, "He will appear a second time...." However, in other passages I have indicated my own belief that the "second coming" does not refer to an earthly manifestation, so I'll use verse 27.
Will God judge us after death? I assume this is correct. I don't anticipate some white-bearded deity asking a bailiff to "bring me Carver's file." But I do believe, and even hope, there is judgment. It would be unthinkable that the injustices of this world should be erased without consequences in whatever world lies ahead. I myself stand in need of forgiveness and expect to face up to the consequences of my sins. I also expect this to be true for everyone. As preachers, we are handicapped in the fact that there is no clear information as to how this all works, but I am guessing that I will be confronted by all my hurtful, unloving actions and failures, and I will view them from a new perspective, from that of someone who now cares, who has grown to a higher stage of spiritual maturity. I have already experienced this at a human level, and know that the grief one feels in hindsight at some of one's thoughtless words and deeds is at times a severe punishment.
Gospel: Mark 12:38-44 (C, RC, E)
I see two possible preaching emphases in this lesson. Hypocrisy and deceit are unlovely sins, and on the part of people with power and prestige, they are especially reprehensible. Verses 38-40 deal with this. It warns of "their punishment." There are consequences because people always find you out eventually. Preachers are sometimes prone to this sin in subtle ways. Not as blatant, perhaps, as the men about whom Jesus spoke here. But we are subjected to many temptations to hypocrisy. We preach of self-discipline and the simple life while gorging ourselves to overweight and quickly saying, "Yes!" to those invitations to "use our condo in Fort Myers for a couple weeks." We speak of self-denial, then lead long trips to faraway places for the purpose of "tracing early Methodism" -- free, of course, since we're doing all the work. We tell the story here of one bishop who was a guest at a luncheon along with the pastor who reported this and a layman. When the check came, the pastor offered to "go dutch" but the bishop said, "No, let the layman pay. That's his job."
The other theme is a familiar one: the widow and her two copper coins. (Didn't that used to be "mites"?) In verses 41 to 44, Jesus indicates that we don't all have the same proportion of money -- nor, by implication, time, energy, ability, possessions. God views our generosity in proportion to our wealth. There is a man in our town who recently donated several million dollars for a cultural organization. It was a wonderful boon to that organization and a major contribution to the cultural life of Indianapolis. However, without wishing to in any way detract from a wonderful contribution, one must note that this man is worth several hundred million dollars. On the other hand, until his death, one of my members routinely made gifts in the hundreds of dollars even though his home was a small little place in a nondescript neighborhood. He lived a frugal life and loved his church. God would view that second man's gifts as perhaps even more generous than the first. Also, the larger gift was widely reviewed in the local paper, parties were held to celebrate the gift, the donor was heralded as a benefactor of this city. The other man, well, his gifts were unknown to the world, only to me and the treasurer of my church. But he did without in order to be generous. The question, however, is this: Is there any reward for this other than the satisfaction of having done something generous? If not, wouldn't you rather be invited to parties, have your name in the paper with people patting you on the back?
SERMON SUGGESTIONS
Title: "Consequences"
Text: Hebrews 9:27
Theme: Lord Tennyson said it well in Sea Dreams:
He ever bears about
A silent court of justice in his breast,
Himself the judge and jury, and himself
The prisoner at the bar....
At least for some of us, the harshest judge will be our own conscience. A universe without accountability for a person's good and bad thoughts and actions would be unthinkable. I myself have never committed a crime, nor have I ever intentionally hurt anyone that I can recall. And yet, I have done things which have hurt others, people I loved, for which I must answer. Indeed, for which I wish to answer. Surely anyone with normally working sensitivities has some sense of shame and obligation. A world in which we are all set free at the end, told by God in effect, "Oh well, you're surely a good person deep down who made a few unfortunate mistakes, so you can just run along." That wouldn't work at all.
Paul Tillich, writing in Love, Power And Justice, said it well: "A man may say to another: ïI know your criminal deed and according to the demand of justice I should bring you to trial, but because of my Christian love I let you go.' Through this leniency, which is wrongly identified with love, a person may be driven toward a thoroughly criminal career. This means that he has received neither justice nor love, but injustice, covered by sentimentality. He might have been saved by having been brought to trial after his first fall." No, our problem is to combine the necessity for accountability on the one hand and the reality of divine forgiveness on the other hand. How do we avoid mere sentimentality which ignores the gravity of human sins?
1. God will hold us accountable. The Bible affirms this over and over, as in this passage. And yet, were we to be punished by the rules of legal justice alone, our fate would be terrifying in many of our cases.
2. Punishment designed to even a score, to see that one pays a price regardless of reasons or mitigating circumstances would be arbitrary and unloving. God is not like that. Traditional concepts of Hell would be just that.
3. Forgiveness requires repentance. If my child did something hurtful, then blithely ignored family rules, seemed unmoved by a hurt inflicted, I would be terribly upset and would see that consequences were such that the child would not want to be like that again. On the other hand, if my child seemed brokenhearted at such wrongdoing, genuinely sorry, I would forgive and we could go on.
4. There are still consequences. If I break your mirror, though I am terribly sorry, I still cannot repair the mirror. If I betray your trust, no matter my utterly sincere apologies, your hurt is real and cannot be removed. But it can be mitigated by forgiveness on your part and genuine sorrow on mine. So, I think, with God. And Christ is willing to absorb the hurt, but only if my sorrow is genuine. And we should make no mistake, God will know the sincerity -- or lack thereof -- of our repentance.
5. And so our punishment may be the sorrow of wrongs committed and of kindnesses never shown. But God will forgive us. Somewhere, in that life which is beyond this world's understanding, there will surely be a chance to make amends. Just as in this life we finally forgive ourselves when we have done all we can to make amends, I expect it to be that way in heaven as well.
Title: "Giving And Receiving"
Text: Mark 12:41-44
Theme: I read some time ago in our newspaper that interviews with bell ringers for The Salvation Army at Christmastime revealed that most of their donations came from people who did not appear to have much money -- blue collar workers, people in old clothes, employees of nearby department stores, and so on. Apparently, generosity is not related to worldly goods. We know of one highly paid politician who gave away less than 400 dollars in charitable gifts, according to his income tax statement.
There are other forms of generosity. I have a friend who will get up two hours before his normal time to rise in order to take a friend to the airport, and he does so with cheerful good humor. A little thing, I suppose. Yet his spirit of generosity is obvious. The thought that God would reward him in some way has never, I'm sure, occurred to this man. A woman whom I know very well is forever doing kindnesses for people in need -- taking a hot meal to the sick or bereaved, sending flowers to someone who has won an honor, donating money to the church over and above her pledge, complimenting friends on their achievements, always busy doing something for someone else. And yet she is always pressed for time. She repeatedly misses out on opportunities to sit and read or reflect, because of her generous impulse. But you know what? Both these people are happy people. Both smile, seem joyous. I have to think their impulse to generosity is part and parcel of a happy life.
Two good illustrations are to be found in Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, in which Jean Valjean, by sacrificing his life for a little girl, finds happiness, and in Silas Marner in which a formerly selfish old man who loved to count his money became a wonderful, generous old man because of his love for a child. Or, there's Little Lord Fauntleroy, in which a grouchy, stingy old geezer is turned into a kindly old gentleman because his sweet-natured grandson has come to live with him, and the old man is surprised to discover that he loves the boy and wants his happiness.
In other words, the common theme which turns selfish people into generous people is love. When you truly love someone, you sacrifice for that person. When you truly love people, you sacrifice your money, your time, your energy, your talents for them. If you truly love God, and if you have come to know God through Jesus Christ, and if you therefore love Jesus Christ, and if you realize that his heart is warmed by kindnesses performed for other people, and if you wish to make Jesus happy, you give your things and yourself away. And what is the result? I think my airport friend is an example, humanity in microcosm: He finds happiness. Ah, yes. All of us running around, spending, getting, wanting, trying to find happiness. Now we find its secret: generosity. There's life's grand secret: love equals generosity which equals happiness.
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
Mr. Omer McKinney of West Palm Beach, Florida, told of a family in West Virginia where he grew up. He said they raised chickens, and next door lived a cranky old man who was unfriendly and a bad neighbor. Occasionally, the family's chickens would hop over the fence, and the old fellow would angrily protest. One Sunday while the family was in church, the chickens got loose and again got over in the mean neighbor's yard. When the family returned from church, they found all of their chickens dead. The old guy had wrung their necks one by one and flung them back over the fence. Later that day, the wife showed up at the mean neighbor's door with a large platter of golden-brown fried chicken. Brightly, she said, "We had more chicken today than we could use, so we thought you might like some."
____________
The name of Oseola McCarty deserves to be remembered -- and it will be. She saw to that. Oseola grew up in a black section of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, at the beginning of this century. She had to quit school at age twelve to help her mother, her aunt, and her grandmother do washing for townspeople. She continued in this profession, also caring for each of her relatives as, one by one, they died. And so Oseola the washerwoman continued in her work through the years, always taking pride in the clean and starched garments she returned to their owners. Sometimes she would walk to the bank and deposit a few dollars she had been able to save. She did this work for seventy years, retiring in 1995 because of her arthritis.
Oseola McCarty still lives in a humble little cottage there in Hattiesburg. But recently, she made her will, leaving an endowment to the nearby University of Southern Mississippi in the amount of 150,000 dollars. She had never been inside their doors. But she wanted to start a scholarship for underprivileged kids who would otherwise never get to college. Others were so inspired by this benevolence that an additional 350,000 dollars has been donated to supplement this gift. Four students have already received Oseola McCarty scholarships.
Miss McCarty -- she never had time to marry -- has since received a letter from the president, an honorary degree from Harvard, been on television shows such as Oprah Winfrey, The Late Show with David Letterman, and many others. She has received the Presidential Citizens Medal, and many other awards and medals. But Oseola McCarty sits quietly on her front porch in Hattiesburg where her only recent luxury was a small paved walk from her porch to the street, and wonders what's all the fuss. Interviewed recently by Southern Living magazine, she said, "People have given more than I have already." But the columnist ended with this: "No, Miss McCarty, they haven't."
____________
"There's a lot of talk about self-esteem these days. It seems basic to me. If you want to feel proud of yourself, you've got to do things you can be proud of. Feelings follow actions."
-- Oseola McCarty
____________
"It is relatively easy to come through in times of adversity and ... the tougher test of friendship is being wholeheartedly able to stand by our friends in their joys. For intermingled with feelings of pride in our friends and support for our friends are feelings of competitiveness and envy."
-- Judith Viorst, (Necessary Losses, p. 171)
____________
"Where there's life there's conflict; where there's conflict there's guilt."
-- Paul Tournier
____________
"I sat alone with my conscience
In a place where time had ceased.
We discoursed of my former living
In a land where the years increased.
And I felt I should have to answer
The questions it put to me,
And to face those questions and answers
In that dim eternity.
And the ghosts of forgotten actions
Came floating before my sight,
And the sins that I thought were dead sins
Were alive with a terrible might.
And I know of the future judgment
How dreadful so e'er it be,
That to sit alone with my conscience
Would be judgment enough for me."
-- Charles W. Stubbs
____________
Reuel Howe, author of several books on love and family life, told of a little girl whose mother was getting ready for a party. The child, perhaps four or five, was trying to keep her mother's attention, while Mom was busily doing all the things like hair, makeup, and choice of clothing which she wanted done just right for the party. Anyone with small children will understand both sides of this as Mother, highly excited and also irritated by constant interruptions, scolded her daughter and told her to go to her room. The little girl, feeling terribly rejected and mistreated, began to cry as she trudged upstairs. But as she passed her mother's room, she saw her mom's party dress carefully spread across the bed. Seeing a pair of scissors on the bedside table, the little girl, in a sudden fit of misery, grabbed up the scissors and slashed at mother's dress. Immediately, she realized the awful nature of what she had just done. Overwhelmed with emotions too much for her -- guilt, fear, anxiety -- she began to sob her heart out.
When Mother heard the sudden outburst of emotion, she realized something was wrong and dashed to her room to be confronted by her damaged dress and her stricken daughter. For a long moment, Mother stood there as her child's sobs tore at her little body. And then, Mother dropped down on her knees, gathered her beloved child in her arms and whispered: "It's all right, dear. I understand." What a powerful moment. Punishment? There's a place for that. But the ends of punishment had already been achieved. The little girl was already sorry, already aware of the gravity of what she had done. Mother had taught the greatest lesson anyone can learn: forgiving love.
Could God be less loving than that mother? On the contrary, just as a kind parent would never reject a loved child by choice, neither will God reject one of us by his choice. Jesus said: "When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to me" (John 12:32).
____________
Here are some great quotes that deserve to be recorded somewhere, whether they are useful in this section or not.
"Mom, we know you're Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy. We haven't yet decided whether you're God."
-- The Breedlove children, just old enough
"I'm not as deep and complicated as people think."
-- Mike Tyson
"Children belong with their mothers."
-- O.J. Simpson
____________
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 127 (C) -- "Unless the Lord builds the house...."
Psalm 145 (RC) -- "I will extol you, my God and king."
Psalm 146 (E) -- "Praise the Lord."
Prayer Of The Day
Merciful God, we come to you burdened with the sins which mark our lives. Time after time, we have witnessed people whose needs we might have met, yet we failed. Time after time we have uttered words which hurt, words which defamed, words which revealed our true selves as not like you would have us be. We pray to be forgiven, to have our hearts and minds cleansed, that we might yet be found to live and act as you would have us do. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.
Lesson 1: Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17 (C)
This is all very strange. Ancient customs no doubt have their basis in necessities of the time, but here we must wonder at this rather strange transaction. We read of Ruth lying down next to Boaz, whom presumably she has never actually met before. Then we pick things up later when she is about to have a child. It reminds me of the movies of an earlier era when censors were picky about certain scenes, so we'd see the couple who were attracted looking furtively toward the bedroom, then in the next scene, they'd be having breakfast.
Frankly, I'm torn between a certain responsibility to suggest a sermonic use for this passage on the one hand, and the knowledge that I would never use this as a preaching text myself on the other hand. The Interpreter's Bible commentary observes that it all hinges on whether you think Naomi was a straight arrow, in which case we could talk about clever tactics to get what you want, or whether Naomi was privately thinking of her own best interests, in which case we could talk about mixed motives. However, my own inclination is to view this as a quaint insight into some ancient customs which appear odd to us, and use the other assigned passages for this Sunday.
Lesson 1: 1 Kings 17:10-16 (RC); 1 Kings 17:8-16 (E)
Lesson 2: Hebrews 9:24-28 (C, RC, E)
A slightly confusing musing on the priestly role of Christ, this sees Christ as having enacted the traditional role of the priest in a perfected way, going not into a temple or otherworldly "Holy Place," but into heaven, and making a sacrifice, not of an animal, but of himself. The purpose being to save us all from sin. The verse which most urgently calls out to us for interpretation is verse 27: "Everyone must die once, and after that be judged by God." Actually, verse 28b is also provocative, "He will appear a second time...." However, in other passages I have indicated my own belief that the "second coming" does not refer to an earthly manifestation, so I'll use verse 27.
Will God judge us after death? I assume this is correct. I don't anticipate some white-bearded deity asking a bailiff to "bring me Carver's file." But I do believe, and even hope, there is judgment. It would be unthinkable that the injustices of this world should be erased without consequences in whatever world lies ahead. I myself stand in need of forgiveness and expect to face up to the consequences of my sins. I also expect this to be true for everyone. As preachers, we are handicapped in the fact that there is no clear information as to how this all works, but I am guessing that I will be confronted by all my hurtful, unloving actions and failures, and I will view them from a new perspective, from that of someone who now cares, who has grown to a higher stage of spiritual maturity. I have already experienced this at a human level, and know that the grief one feels in hindsight at some of one's thoughtless words and deeds is at times a severe punishment.
Gospel: Mark 12:38-44 (C, RC, E)
I see two possible preaching emphases in this lesson. Hypocrisy and deceit are unlovely sins, and on the part of people with power and prestige, they are especially reprehensible. Verses 38-40 deal with this. It warns of "their punishment." There are consequences because people always find you out eventually. Preachers are sometimes prone to this sin in subtle ways. Not as blatant, perhaps, as the men about whom Jesus spoke here. But we are subjected to many temptations to hypocrisy. We preach of self-discipline and the simple life while gorging ourselves to overweight and quickly saying, "Yes!" to those invitations to "use our condo in Fort Myers for a couple weeks." We speak of self-denial, then lead long trips to faraway places for the purpose of "tracing early Methodism" -- free, of course, since we're doing all the work. We tell the story here of one bishop who was a guest at a luncheon along with the pastor who reported this and a layman. When the check came, the pastor offered to "go dutch" but the bishop said, "No, let the layman pay. That's his job."
The other theme is a familiar one: the widow and her two copper coins. (Didn't that used to be "mites"?) In verses 41 to 44, Jesus indicates that we don't all have the same proportion of money -- nor, by implication, time, energy, ability, possessions. God views our generosity in proportion to our wealth. There is a man in our town who recently donated several million dollars for a cultural organization. It was a wonderful boon to that organization and a major contribution to the cultural life of Indianapolis. However, without wishing to in any way detract from a wonderful contribution, one must note that this man is worth several hundred million dollars. On the other hand, until his death, one of my members routinely made gifts in the hundreds of dollars even though his home was a small little place in a nondescript neighborhood. He lived a frugal life and loved his church. God would view that second man's gifts as perhaps even more generous than the first. Also, the larger gift was widely reviewed in the local paper, parties were held to celebrate the gift, the donor was heralded as a benefactor of this city. The other man, well, his gifts were unknown to the world, only to me and the treasurer of my church. But he did without in order to be generous. The question, however, is this: Is there any reward for this other than the satisfaction of having done something generous? If not, wouldn't you rather be invited to parties, have your name in the paper with people patting you on the back?
SERMON SUGGESTIONS
Title: "Consequences"
Text: Hebrews 9:27
Theme: Lord Tennyson said it well in Sea Dreams:
He ever bears about
A silent court of justice in his breast,
Himself the judge and jury, and himself
The prisoner at the bar....
At least for some of us, the harshest judge will be our own conscience. A universe without accountability for a person's good and bad thoughts and actions would be unthinkable. I myself have never committed a crime, nor have I ever intentionally hurt anyone that I can recall. And yet, I have done things which have hurt others, people I loved, for which I must answer. Indeed, for which I wish to answer. Surely anyone with normally working sensitivities has some sense of shame and obligation. A world in which we are all set free at the end, told by God in effect, "Oh well, you're surely a good person deep down who made a few unfortunate mistakes, so you can just run along." That wouldn't work at all.
Paul Tillich, writing in Love, Power And Justice, said it well: "A man may say to another: ïI know your criminal deed and according to the demand of justice I should bring you to trial, but because of my Christian love I let you go.' Through this leniency, which is wrongly identified with love, a person may be driven toward a thoroughly criminal career. This means that he has received neither justice nor love, but injustice, covered by sentimentality. He might have been saved by having been brought to trial after his first fall." No, our problem is to combine the necessity for accountability on the one hand and the reality of divine forgiveness on the other hand. How do we avoid mere sentimentality which ignores the gravity of human sins?
1. God will hold us accountable. The Bible affirms this over and over, as in this passage. And yet, were we to be punished by the rules of legal justice alone, our fate would be terrifying in many of our cases.
2. Punishment designed to even a score, to see that one pays a price regardless of reasons or mitigating circumstances would be arbitrary and unloving. God is not like that. Traditional concepts of Hell would be just that.
3. Forgiveness requires repentance. If my child did something hurtful, then blithely ignored family rules, seemed unmoved by a hurt inflicted, I would be terribly upset and would see that consequences were such that the child would not want to be like that again. On the other hand, if my child seemed brokenhearted at such wrongdoing, genuinely sorry, I would forgive and we could go on.
4. There are still consequences. If I break your mirror, though I am terribly sorry, I still cannot repair the mirror. If I betray your trust, no matter my utterly sincere apologies, your hurt is real and cannot be removed. But it can be mitigated by forgiveness on your part and genuine sorrow on mine. So, I think, with God. And Christ is willing to absorb the hurt, but only if my sorrow is genuine. And we should make no mistake, God will know the sincerity -- or lack thereof -- of our repentance.
5. And so our punishment may be the sorrow of wrongs committed and of kindnesses never shown. But God will forgive us. Somewhere, in that life which is beyond this world's understanding, there will surely be a chance to make amends. Just as in this life we finally forgive ourselves when we have done all we can to make amends, I expect it to be that way in heaven as well.
Title: "Giving And Receiving"
Text: Mark 12:41-44
Theme: I read some time ago in our newspaper that interviews with bell ringers for The Salvation Army at Christmastime revealed that most of their donations came from people who did not appear to have much money -- blue collar workers, people in old clothes, employees of nearby department stores, and so on. Apparently, generosity is not related to worldly goods. We know of one highly paid politician who gave away less than 400 dollars in charitable gifts, according to his income tax statement.
There are other forms of generosity. I have a friend who will get up two hours before his normal time to rise in order to take a friend to the airport, and he does so with cheerful good humor. A little thing, I suppose. Yet his spirit of generosity is obvious. The thought that God would reward him in some way has never, I'm sure, occurred to this man. A woman whom I know very well is forever doing kindnesses for people in need -- taking a hot meal to the sick or bereaved, sending flowers to someone who has won an honor, donating money to the church over and above her pledge, complimenting friends on their achievements, always busy doing something for someone else. And yet she is always pressed for time. She repeatedly misses out on opportunities to sit and read or reflect, because of her generous impulse. But you know what? Both these people are happy people. Both smile, seem joyous. I have to think their impulse to generosity is part and parcel of a happy life.
Two good illustrations are to be found in Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, in which Jean Valjean, by sacrificing his life for a little girl, finds happiness, and in Silas Marner in which a formerly selfish old man who loved to count his money became a wonderful, generous old man because of his love for a child. Or, there's Little Lord Fauntleroy, in which a grouchy, stingy old geezer is turned into a kindly old gentleman because his sweet-natured grandson has come to live with him, and the old man is surprised to discover that he loves the boy and wants his happiness.
In other words, the common theme which turns selfish people into generous people is love. When you truly love someone, you sacrifice for that person. When you truly love people, you sacrifice your money, your time, your energy, your talents for them. If you truly love God, and if you have come to know God through Jesus Christ, and if you therefore love Jesus Christ, and if you realize that his heart is warmed by kindnesses performed for other people, and if you wish to make Jesus happy, you give your things and yourself away. And what is the result? I think my airport friend is an example, humanity in microcosm: He finds happiness. Ah, yes. All of us running around, spending, getting, wanting, trying to find happiness. Now we find its secret: generosity. There's life's grand secret: love equals generosity which equals happiness.
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
Mr. Omer McKinney of West Palm Beach, Florida, told of a family in West Virginia where he grew up. He said they raised chickens, and next door lived a cranky old man who was unfriendly and a bad neighbor. Occasionally, the family's chickens would hop over the fence, and the old fellow would angrily protest. One Sunday while the family was in church, the chickens got loose and again got over in the mean neighbor's yard. When the family returned from church, they found all of their chickens dead. The old guy had wrung their necks one by one and flung them back over the fence. Later that day, the wife showed up at the mean neighbor's door with a large platter of golden-brown fried chicken. Brightly, she said, "We had more chicken today than we could use, so we thought you might like some."
____________
The name of Oseola McCarty deserves to be remembered -- and it will be. She saw to that. Oseola grew up in a black section of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, at the beginning of this century. She had to quit school at age twelve to help her mother, her aunt, and her grandmother do washing for townspeople. She continued in this profession, also caring for each of her relatives as, one by one, they died. And so Oseola the washerwoman continued in her work through the years, always taking pride in the clean and starched garments she returned to their owners. Sometimes she would walk to the bank and deposit a few dollars she had been able to save. She did this work for seventy years, retiring in 1995 because of her arthritis.
Oseola McCarty still lives in a humble little cottage there in Hattiesburg. But recently, she made her will, leaving an endowment to the nearby University of Southern Mississippi in the amount of 150,000 dollars. She had never been inside their doors. But she wanted to start a scholarship for underprivileged kids who would otherwise never get to college. Others were so inspired by this benevolence that an additional 350,000 dollars has been donated to supplement this gift. Four students have already received Oseola McCarty scholarships.
Miss McCarty -- she never had time to marry -- has since received a letter from the president, an honorary degree from Harvard, been on television shows such as Oprah Winfrey, The Late Show with David Letterman, and many others. She has received the Presidential Citizens Medal, and many other awards and medals. But Oseola McCarty sits quietly on her front porch in Hattiesburg where her only recent luxury was a small paved walk from her porch to the street, and wonders what's all the fuss. Interviewed recently by Southern Living magazine, she said, "People have given more than I have already." But the columnist ended with this: "No, Miss McCarty, they haven't."
____________
"There's a lot of talk about self-esteem these days. It seems basic to me. If you want to feel proud of yourself, you've got to do things you can be proud of. Feelings follow actions."
-- Oseola McCarty
____________
"It is relatively easy to come through in times of adversity and ... the tougher test of friendship is being wholeheartedly able to stand by our friends in their joys. For intermingled with feelings of pride in our friends and support for our friends are feelings of competitiveness and envy."
-- Judith Viorst, (Necessary Losses, p. 171)
____________
"Where there's life there's conflict; where there's conflict there's guilt."
-- Paul Tournier
____________
"I sat alone with my conscience
In a place where time had ceased.
We discoursed of my former living
In a land where the years increased.
And I felt I should have to answer
The questions it put to me,
And to face those questions and answers
In that dim eternity.
And the ghosts of forgotten actions
Came floating before my sight,
And the sins that I thought were dead sins
Were alive with a terrible might.
And I know of the future judgment
How dreadful so e'er it be,
That to sit alone with my conscience
Would be judgment enough for me."
-- Charles W. Stubbs
____________
Reuel Howe, author of several books on love and family life, told of a little girl whose mother was getting ready for a party. The child, perhaps four or five, was trying to keep her mother's attention, while Mom was busily doing all the things like hair, makeup, and choice of clothing which she wanted done just right for the party. Anyone with small children will understand both sides of this as Mother, highly excited and also irritated by constant interruptions, scolded her daughter and told her to go to her room. The little girl, feeling terribly rejected and mistreated, began to cry as she trudged upstairs. But as she passed her mother's room, she saw her mom's party dress carefully spread across the bed. Seeing a pair of scissors on the bedside table, the little girl, in a sudden fit of misery, grabbed up the scissors and slashed at mother's dress. Immediately, she realized the awful nature of what she had just done. Overwhelmed with emotions too much for her -- guilt, fear, anxiety -- she began to sob her heart out.
When Mother heard the sudden outburst of emotion, she realized something was wrong and dashed to her room to be confronted by her damaged dress and her stricken daughter. For a long moment, Mother stood there as her child's sobs tore at her little body. And then, Mother dropped down on her knees, gathered her beloved child in her arms and whispered: "It's all right, dear. I understand." What a powerful moment. Punishment? There's a place for that. But the ends of punishment had already been achieved. The little girl was already sorry, already aware of the gravity of what she had done. Mother had taught the greatest lesson anyone can learn: forgiving love.
Could God be less loving than that mother? On the contrary, just as a kind parent would never reject a loved child by choice, neither will God reject one of us by his choice. Jesus said: "When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to me" (John 12:32).
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Here are some great quotes that deserve to be recorded somewhere, whether they are useful in this section or not.
"Mom, we know you're Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy. We haven't yet decided whether you're God."
-- The Breedlove children, just old enough
"I'm not as deep and complicated as people think."
-- Mike Tyson
"Children belong with their mothers."
-- O.J. Simpson
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Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 127 (C) -- "Unless the Lord builds the house...."
Psalm 145 (RC) -- "I will extol you, my God and king."
Psalm 146 (E) -- "Praise the Lord."
Prayer Of The Day
Merciful God, we come to you burdened with the sins which mark our lives. Time after time, we have witnessed people whose needs we might have met, yet we failed. Time after time we have uttered words which hurt, words which defamed, words which revealed our true selves as not like you would have us be. We pray to be forgiven, to have our hearts and minds cleansed, that we might yet be found to live and act as you would have us do. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.
