Monday Sermon

Grace , through the kindness of good friends, received tickets to the Jonas Brother's concert at the Staples Center on Friday night. A HUGE fan, she had the time of her life and was as excited as I have ever seen her. She came home and breathlessly chattered on about her experience until she was hoarse. But before she went to bed, she told of another "new experience" she witnessed that night. The sight of a homeless man, laying inside a cardboard box with his back to the opening. And she could see that he was crying because his shoulders and back were shaking rhythmically, in the manner they do when you are wracked with sobs. It was him she remembered when she got into bed.

Say what you want about Michael Jackson. He was very weird at best, but he wrote, without a doubt, the most amazing anthem for social responsibility ever. And if every single person took these words seriously, we wouldn't be fighting about health care reform, joblessness and homelessness. Its called "Man in the Mirror" and in the unlikely event that you haven't heard it, or couldn't make out all the words, here are the lyrics:

I'm gonna make a change, for once in my life

Its gonna feel real good, gonna make a difference, gonna make it right

As I turn up the collar on my favorite winter coat

the wind is blowin' my mind

I see the kids in the street with not enough to eat

Who am I to be blind pretending not to see their need?

A summer's disregard, a broken bottle top, and one man's soul

They follow each other on the wind you know, cause they got nowhere to go

That's why I want you to know

I'm starting with the man in the mirror, I'm asking him to change his ways

And no message could have been any clearer

If you wanna make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make a change.

I've been a victim of a selfish kind of love, its time that I realize

That there are some with no home, not a nickel to loan

Could it be, really me, pretending that they're not alone?

A willow deeply scarred, somebody's broken heart, and a washed out dream

They follow the pattern of the wind you see, cause they got no place to be

That's why I'm starting with me.

You gotta get it right while you got the time

Cause when you close your heart you close your mind.

I don't know what I can add to that. Except that I have a heightened awareness of need these days. And even in unemployment, I'm one of the lucky ones. I know there are people from all walks of life in desperate situations right now - you do not have to look far to find them. There has never been a time when the phrase "There but for the grace of God, go I" has been so close to home.

So, when you are at the grocery store and they ask if you want to donate one dollar to the cause - do it. If you get a legitimate solicitation over the phone for the needy - give to it. If you are asked to donate something - find it and donate it. A little bit here and there by everyone can change everything. Sponsor a child, pay someone's rent, stock the food banks, give blood, give time. Tithe. And then, tell no one. The treasure in heaven you store will be worth it.

Finally, before you log off your computer, go to Kiva.org and check out what a loan of $25.00 or more can do for people around the world.

And all the people said - amen.