Sunday Sermon for October
16, 2005
My family had not eaten a good piece of toast in about 5 years before last
Thursday. When my husband and I wed, one of our gifts was a 4 slice
toaster. It was nice to look at but only toasted one side of the bread.
Needless to say, we didn’t make a lot of toast with it. I have had, in the
back of my mind, the idea to get a new toaster for a while. On Thursday I
was in Costco and there was this 4 slice toaster on sale. I bought it and
brought it home. My son put some bread in and when it popped up only one
side was toasted. So, I drove to Wal-Mart and bought a 2 slice toaster,
brought it home, put in a piece of bread and only one side browned. I was
getting angry! My son told me that it wasn’t a big deal, he liked his toast
like that. I then felt the need to explain to him that he just didn’t
remember what it was like to have a real piece of toast. Next, I drove to
Albertson’s for yet another toaster. When I brought it home it was the same
story, half toasted toast. Do do do do, do do do do, 4 toasters in one
house and many pieces of half toasted bread on the counter. To Raley’s I
drove. One more try. I bought one last toaster and brought it home, put in
a piece of bread and when it popped up guess what, it was toasted on both
sides! Praise God. Why do companies keep making things of poor quality?
Because we keep buying them. But why do we buy them? Is it because we say
to ourselves; That’s just how it is, it’s a sign of the times, what can I do
about it. Maybe it’s the same when we hear about the multitude of homeless,
poor, sick, abused, children. We say to ourselves; that’s just how it is,
it’s a sign of the times, what can I do about it.
In the Gospel of Mathew, Jesus reminds us of what is important to God “Give
to Caesar the things that are stamped in the likeness of Caesar and give to
God the things that are stamped in the likeness of God”. Jesus is telling
his audience to treat Caesar’s coins as Caesar would have them be treated,
and to treat God’s “coins” (human beings) as God would want them to be
treated. It all goes back to Genesis 1:26; it says “Let us make human kind
in our image, according to our likeness.” If we accept that God’s likeness
dwells within human beings, then we must also acknowledge the sacredness of
all human life. Not just some of us, but all of us are sacred. Each child on
this planet is of infinite value. Stamped with God’s image, each of us is
indescribably precious, valuable beyond our earthly ability to measure
value.
Regardless of all this:
Each day in America a child is abused or neglected every 35 seconds,
that’s 906,000 a year. And a child dies from abuse or neglect every 6
hours.
Each day in America a child is born into poverty every 36 seconds. 12.9
million are poor and 5.6 million live in extreme poverty.
Each day in America millions of poor children are hungry, at risk of
hunger, living in worst case housing or homeless and almost 7 in 10 of
them live in working families.
Each day in America a child is killed by a firearm every 3 hours, 8 a
day.
Each day in America every 75 seconds a baby is born to a teen mother.
That’s 432,000 a year.
Each day in America a majority of all 4th graders can’t read
or do math at grade level.
Each day in America a child drops out of school every 9 seconds of a
school day, almost half a million a year.
The people of Haiti are the poorest of the poor. They live in complete
squalor. They are starving, sick, and have nothing. When they are asked
how God could permit such misery they answer “God gives but doesn’t share”.
What this means is: God gives us everything we need to flourish, but God
isn’t the one who is supposed to divide it. That charge is laid upon us.
When we do well we increase our own financial standing. When we act with
justice, mercy, and compassion, we change lives for the better, often
changing our own for the better in the process. Real abundance is found
only in living in accordance with God’s will. The United States now spends
over 50 percent of its discretionary budget on the military. For 2006 the
Administration plans to spend $441.8 billion (excluding the cost of war in
Iraq and Afghanistan). This amounts to $1.2 billion a day which is enough
to provide health coverage for 806,000 children for a year, just one days
budget could provide that. Or $50.4 million an hour which is enough to
provide Head Start for 6,700 children for one year, one hours worth of
budget. How can we let this go on?! Restoration, hope, life for our
nation’s at-risk children is possible, but we must pray for it, work for it,
even sacrifice for it. When I was growing up, my mother had a friend who
was raising 6 children. Her husband was a school teacher and she was a
house-wife. Their children attended catholic school and all of them had
dance lessons. With all the money that it cost to raise their children, they
still had the pictures of 2 other children on their fridge that they sent
money to each month. That family understood how important it was to share
all they had, to take care of others stamped with God’s image. They had
more than enough even though they didn’t have much. Mahatma Gandhi tells us
“Be the change you wish to see in the world.” We can be. As people of
faith we can dare to comprehend the scope of injustice our children face
because we know that with God’s help we can address them. All we need to do
is look around our church, our community, or our state, and take on one new
action on behalf of children. We can volunteer as a mentor, start an after
school program here at our church, help IHN, write letters to congress in
support of bills, and vote for proper usage of taxes. Voice our opinions!
Open the eyes of our hearts Lord. One person can make a difference. Be
that person!
Claire Berry, Dir. of Children’s Ministries
Reno First UMC
