A little girl stood near a small church from which she had been turned away because it was 'too crowded.' "I can't go to Sunday School," she sobbed to the pastor as he walked by.
Seeing her shabby, unkempt appearance, the pastor guessed the reason and taking her by the hand took her inside and found a place for her in the Sunday school class. The child was so happy that they found room for her, and she went to bed that night thinking of the children who have no place to worship Jesus.
Some two years later, this child lay dead in one of the poor tenement buildings. Her parents called for the kindhearted pastor who had befriended their daughter to handle the final arrangements. As her poor little body was being moved, a worn and crumpled red purse was found which seemed to have been rummaged from some trash dump. Inside was found 57 cents and a note, scribbled in childish handwriting, which read: "This is to help build the little church bigger so more children can go to Sunday School." For two years she had saved for this offering of love.1
Moses, in his desert experience with the nation of Israel, learned first hand how we as human beings can be a fussy lot, a fearful lot. How we have in our nature the propensity to pick and choose what we will do or not do; who gets and who doesn’t; who is accepted and who is rejected for whatever reasons.
In today’s gospel, Jesus really caught his disciples off guard by his engagement and even praise of the faith of an outsider, a pagan, I believe the term he used was “dog” who, according to the cultural norms of the time, was considered unclean. It’s not the first time Jesus has praised the faith of an outsider. In Matthew 8, there was the centurion, whose prayer we recite every Eucharist, “Lord I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word…” (Mt 8:8, 10) and the hemorrhaging woman in Mark 5, who longed only to touch the tassel of his garment, “Daughter, your faith has saved you.” (Mk 5:34)
Jesus is showing his disciples and us that faith and trust are the keys to experiencing his power, that more than anything else it was their humble & persistent disposition the made all the difference. Jesus welcomes anyone who comes to him with an open, humble, and willing heart. He does not discriminate; his arms are wide open, eager to embrace all of us.
So what became of the little girl’s 57 cents? The story of her seemingly little love offering, opened the hearts of a community and became the seed funds for the construction of Temple Baptist Church and Temple University, where there is plenty of room for children to worship Jesus.
Seeing her shabby, unkempt appearance, the pastor guessed the reason and taking her by the hand took her inside and found a place for her in the Sunday school class. The child was so happy that they found room for her, and she went to bed that night thinking of the children who have no place to worship Jesus.
Some two years later, this child lay dead in one of the poor tenement buildings. Her parents called for the kindhearted pastor who had befriended their daughter to handle the final arrangements. As her poor little body was being moved, a worn and crumpled red purse was found which seemed to have been rummaged from some trash dump. Inside was found 57 cents and a note, scribbled in childish handwriting, which read: "This is to help build the little church bigger so more children can go to Sunday School." For two years she had saved for this offering of love.1
Moses, in his desert experience with the nation of Israel, learned first hand how we as human beings can be a fussy lot, a fearful lot. How we have in our nature the propensity to pick and choose what we will do or not do; who gets and who doesn’t; who is accepted and who is rejected for whatever reasons.
In today’s gospel, Jesus really caught his disciples off guard by his engagement and even praise of the faith of an outsider, a pagan, I believe the term he used was “dog” who, according to the cultural norms of the time, was considered unclean. It’s not the first time Jesus has praised the faith of an outsider. In Matthew 8, there was the centurion, whose prayer we recite every Eucharist, “Lord I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word…” (Mt 8:8, 10) and the hemorrhaging woman in Mark 5, who longed only to touch the tassel of his garment, “Daughter, your faith has saved you.” (Mk 5:34)
Jesus is showing his disciples and us that faith and trust are the keys to experiencing his power, that more than anything else it was their humble & persistent disposition the made all the difference. Jesus welcomes anyone who comes to him with an open, humble, and willing heart. He does not discriminate; his arms are wide open, eager to embrace all of us.
So what became of the little girl’s 57 cents? The story of her seemingly little love offering, opened the hearts of a community and became the seed funds for the construction of Temple Baptist Church and Temple University, where there is plenty of room for children to worship Jesus.
May we take our cue from the faith & trust of the little girl and the disposition of the unnamed humble and persistent gentile woman.
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