Pokeman Go and Taming Desire

11 Pentecost, Cp13,July, 31, 2016

Ecclesiastes 1:2,12-14;2:18-23  Psalm 107:1-9,43

Col. 3:1-11  Luke 12:13-21

Lectionary Link

Chike:  In the Name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.  You may be seated.

(Catherine has her iPhone and is looking at it)

Chike:  Catherine, I hate to interrupt your texting, but we have sermon to deliver.  I don't think that you have the phone numbers of everyone here so that you can just text the sermon to them.

Catherine:  Hold on!  I am in the midst of Pokémon Go and my phone started to vibrate just a minute ago so I know one of the critters is near.  Which Pokémon is it?  Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, Venusaur, Charmander, Charmeleon, Charizard, Squirtle, Wortortle, Blastoise, Caterpie, Metapie, Butterfree.

Andrew:  Okay, okay, we don't want the whole list!  I'm a bit concerned that you might know these Pokémon better than the twelve Apostles.  Now you might like augmented reality, but we have to get back to the real and actual time of this sermon.

Catherine:  But can't we use Pokémon as a metaphor for our Bible reading themes?

Chike:  Are you sure that we want to augment the reality of the Bible in this way.  Maybe Father Phil will turn over to the heresy police and we will be in trouble.

Andrew: When in Rome do as the Romans do; when in Pokémon Go do as trainers do and so we will perhaps find that St. John the Divine is a Pokestop today.

Catherine:  Precisely! One of the main tasks of the game is to become adept trainers and throw Pokeballs at the various critters to defeat them, to capture them, and to retrain them.   I think St. Paul wrote about some critters.

Chike:  What kind of critters?

Catherine:  Fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, greed, anger, wrath, malice, slander, abusive language, and lying.

Andrew:  Indeed those are some powerful monster.  How do we defeat these monsters?

Chike: St. Paul said we could put these things do death.

Catherine: I don't think that we can just swipe the screens of our phones and throw Pokeballs at them.

Andrew:  St. Paul said we could put these things to death by using the power of the death of Jesus.  Jesus, a perfect person, was wrongly put to death upon the cross.  And since pure Goodness cannot stay dead, God brought Jesus back to life.

Chike:  So St. Paul used the power that comes from the life, death and resurrection as a spiritually augmented reality.

Catherine:  Wow – that’s cooler than the augmented reality of Pokémon!

Andrew:  Why is that?

Catherine:  Because Pokémon is just a game; the Spiritual power to change our lives and make them better is much greater than a game!

Chike:  But how do we change our lives and get them free from the monster of greed?

Andrew:  How do we stop wanting things, people, and situations?  From the time we were babies, don't we always just keep wanting things?

Catherine:   St. Paul said that there is desire and evil desire?  Greed is evil desire runaway like a wild fire and make us think that only having lots of money and things in life will make us happy.

Chike:  And when we want to have everything, then we compete and we lie and we abuse other people who get in our way.

Andrew:  The writer of Ecclesiastes said, “Vanities of Vanity - all is vanity.”

Catherine:   The writer must have been a woman, because only women have vanity tables to primp in front of…

Andrew:   No, the writer was not talking about furniture, though that was a good pun.  The writer was talking about the futility of living one's life just to gain wealth, power, and position.  A person is not able to live forever like God, so we have to leave all of our wealth to other people who did not work for it - and who may not know how to take care of it.

Chike:  Jesus said that Greed was a real problem.  Greed, according St. Paul, is making idols out of things.  Idols are what make desire evil.

Catherine:  So what is the answer to the problem desire?  Can we just stop desiring?  How do we tame desire?

Andrew:  Should we go to a Pokémon gym and get help from our fellow trainers? 

Chike:  O, I think that you mean, should we go to church and get help from our fellow Christians in learning how defeat evil desire?

Catherine:  Yes, we should but still the question is:  How can we tame desire without denying desire?  How can we make evil desire into good and beneficial desire?

Andrew:  I think the secret of magical transformation of desire involves aiming our desire at the right target.

Chike:  What do you mean?

Andrew:  Our desire has to be aimed at the greatest target of all: God.  The first commandment is to love God with all our hearts, souls, mind, and strength.  The Love of God is Good Desire.

Catherine:  Bingo!  That's it.  God is the only one worthy enough to be the greatest Idol of all!

Chike:  So we have freedom to desire God as much as we want.

Andrew:  Yes, and when we learn to desire God the most, then we won't let money or things or people or fame become idols which addict with destructive behavior.

Catherine:  Wow!  If this were Pokémon Go, I would say that we've arrived at Level 100.

Chike:  So, let us be Greedy for God alone.  God is our best treasure of all.

Andrew:  And if we know God to be our best treasure we will learn to enjoy all of the good things and people in our lives without making them into idols.

Catherine:  Okay, we've solved that.  Can I get back to Pokémon Go?

Chike:  Say, amen, Catherine!

Catherine:  Amen.

Andrew:  People, be Greedy for God! Can you say Amen?

Amen.

Sunday School, July 31, 2016 C, proper 13

Sunday School, July 31, 2016   11 Pentecost, C proper 13

A lesson about Greed

Jesus taught a lesson about how the things that we own can own us instead.

We can become a slave to the things that we own.

How so?

When we buy something then we are responsible to take care of it.  Anything that we own requires that we spend time to care for it and protect it.

And so we may end up spending more times with things we love rather than spending time with the people we love.

We can end up by taking care of the things of our lives and not taking care of people in this life who are more important.

There is a judgment that will happen to everyone to test whether their life treasure will die or whether their life treasure will live on forever.

If a person teaches someone to read, the student will also grow to teach another person to read, and each person who teaches someone to read is giving an eternal gift forever.  So teaching someone is a gift which lasts forever.

If someone gives money or a car to someone, these things get spent or wear out or just take more time to store and attend to.  Things require our time and devotion and care.  And it is easy to take care of things that give us pleasure right now, but do not give anything to other people.

Being rich and having treasure toward God happens when we love our neighbor as ourselves.  When we love, we created domino effect into the future.  With love, we inspire others to love too and so the future becomes “rich” with love.

Let us remember not to be a slave to the things we own.  Let us see that what we own, we are truly in control of so that we can use all of our lives to love God and our neighbors.  This is how we create everlasting treasure which will never end.

Sermon on being rich toward God

  Once upon a time there were two brothers, Mark and John;  and they both grew up wanting to be great builders.  They studied architecture; they studied how to build houses.  And so they set out to become great builders.

  Mark decided that he wanted to build the perfect house that he could live in.

So he began to build this perfect house.  This house was built in the mountains where very few people could come.  It was very hard to get to and it took many, many years to build.  In fact, Mark was quite old when he finally finished building his perfect house.  And it had cost him all of his money to build this perfect house.  And after finishing his perfect house, Mark died, and he had only been able to live but a few months in this perfect house.

  And when Mark died, his family did not want to live in the house because it was so far away from everything, so Mark’s perfect house, remained empty, unused, and unseen.  And no one even wanted to buy the house.

  John, his brother also became a builder.  And John did not build a big perfect house.  John went to poor neighborhoods and poor countries and he taught many people how to build houses that they could live in.  And when John would finish teaching poor people to build houses for them selves in one country, he would go to another poor country and help people learn to build houses for the homeless.

  And one day, John too died. But when he died, he had built hundreds and thousands of houses.  And the people whom he taught to build, kept building more houses, and they also taught other people to build houses.  And so even though John was dead, he was still building houses.

  Mark built one perfect house that was not worth much.

  And John built lots of houses for lots of people.  And he taught people how to build houses and taught them how to teach others to built houses.

  Between Mark and John, who was the best builder?  Which builder was best for this world.

  When Jesus taught us how to be rich toward God, he meant that when we love and give to others, we are building things that will last forever and ever.  If we teach someone who teaches someone who teaches someone…then in some way, what we do will last forever.  That is how we can be rich toward God and that is how we help our world survive and be a better place.  Let us learn how we can make our lives good and useful for God and each other.  Amen.

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

July 31, 2016: The Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost

Gathering Songs:The Butterfly Song,If You’re Happy, Father I Adore You,  How Great Thou Art

Liturgist: Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

People: And blessed be God’s kingdom, now and forever.  Amen.

Liturgist:  Oh God, Our hearts are open to you.

And you know us and we can hide nothing from you.

Prepare our hearts and our minds to love you and worship you.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Song: The Butterfly Song,  (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 9)

1. If I were a butterfly, I’d thank you Lord for giving me wings.  If I were a robin in the tree, I’d thank you Lord that I could sing.  If I were a fish in the sea, I’d wiggle my tail and I’d giggle with glee.  But I just thank you Father, for making me, me. 

Refrain: For you gave me a heart and you gave me a smile.  You gave me Jesus and you made me your child, and I just thank you Father for making me, me.

2. If I were an elephant, I’d thank you Lord by raising my trunk.  If I were a kangaroo, you know I’d hop right up to you.  If I were an octapus, I’d thank you Lord for my fine looks.  And I just thank you Father for making me, me.  Refrain

3. If I were a wiggly worm, I’d thank you Lord that I could squirm.  If I were a billy goat, I’d thank you Lord for my strong throat.  If I were a fuzzy wuzzy bear, I’d thank you Lord for my fuzzy wuzzy hair, and I just thank you Father for making me, me.  Refrain

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Let your continual mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without your help, protect and govern it always by your goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Litany of Praise: Alleluia

O God, you are Great!  Alleluia

O God, you have made us! Alleluia

O God, you have made yourself known to us!  Alleluia

O God, you have provided us with us a Savior!  Alleluia

O God, you have given us a Christian family!  Alleluia

O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Alleluia

O God, you brought your Son Jesus back from the dead!  Alleluia

A reading from the Letter to the Colossians

So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 107

Let them give thanks to the LORD for his mercy * and the wonders he does for his children.

For he satisfies the thirsty * and fills the hungry with good things.

Whoever is wise will ponder these things, * and consider well the mercies of the LORD.

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God!

Litanist:

For the good earth, for our food and clothing. Thanks be to God!

For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!

For the talents and gifts that you have given to us. Thanks be to God!

For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!

For health and for a good night’s sleep. Thanks be to God!

For work and for play. Thanks be to God!

For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!

For the happy events of our lives. Thanks be to God!

For the celebration of the birthdays and anniversaries of our friends and parish family.

   Thanks be to God!

Liturgist:         The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me." But he said to him, "Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?" And he said to them, "Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions." Then he told them a parable: "The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, `What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?' Then he said, `I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, `Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' But God said to him, `You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God."

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon – Father Phil

Children’s Creed

We did not make ourselves, so we believe that God the Father is the maker of the world.

Since God is so great and we are so small,

We believe God came into our world and was born as Jesus, son of the Virgin Mary.

We need God’s help and we believe that God saved us by the life, death and

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We believe that God is present with us now as the Holy Spirit.

We believe that we are baptized into God’s family the Church where everyone is

     welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

We believe that we have a future in knowing Jesus Christ.

And since we all must die, we believe that God will preserve us forever.  Amen.

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy.

For fighting and war to cease in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For peace on earth and good will towards all. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety of all who travel. Christ, have mercy.

For jobs for all who need them. Christ, have mercy.

For care of those who are growing old. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety, health and nutrition of all the children in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For the well-being of our families and friends. Christ, have mercy.

For the good health of those we know to be ill. Christ, have mercy.

For the remembrance of those who have died. Christ, have mercy.

For the forgiveness of all of our sins. Christ, have mercy.

Youth Liturgist:          The Peace of the Lord be always with you.

People:                        And also with you.

Song during the preparation of the Altar and the receiving of an offering

Offertory Song:

            If You’re Happy and You Know It, (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 124)

If you’re happy  and you know it clap your hands.  If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands.  If you’re happy and you know it then your face should surely show it.  If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands.

If you’re happy and you know it stomp your feet.  If you’re happy and you know it stomp your feet.  If you’re happy and you know it, then your face should surely show it.  If you’re happy and you know it stomp your feet.

If you’re happy and you know it, shout, Amen!  Amen!  If you’re happy and you know it shout, Amen!  Amen!   If you’re happy and you know it, then your face should surely show it, if you’re happy and you know it, shout, Amen!  Amen!

Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below.

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Prologue to the Eucharist

Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, for to them belong the kingdom of heaven.”

All become members of a family by birth or adoption.

Baptism is a celebration of birth into the family of God.

A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.

The Holy Eucharist is the special meal that Jesus gave to his friends to keep us together as the family of Christ.

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.

It is right to give God thanks and praise.

It is very good and right to give thanks, because God made us, Jesus redeemed us and the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts.  Therefore with Angels and Archangels and all of the world that we see and don’t see, we forever sing this hymn of praise:

Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Power and Might.  Heav’n and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest.  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. 

Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.

(All may gather around the altar)

The Celebrant now praises God for the salvation of the world through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Our grateful praise we offer to you God, our Creator;

You have made us in your image

And you gave us many men and women of faith to help us to live by faith:

Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachael.

And then you gave us your Son, Jesus, born of Mary, nurtured by Joseph

And he called us to be sons and daughters of God.

Your Son called us to live better lives and he gave us this Holy Meal so that when we eat

  the bread and drink the wine, we can  know that the Presence of Christ is as near to us as  

  this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

The Prayer continues with these words

And so, Father, we bring you these gifts of bread and wine. Bless and sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your people the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord. Bless and sanctify us by your Holy Spirit so that we may love God and our neighbor.

On the night when Jesus was betrayed he took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread, and gave it to his friends, and said, "Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me."

After supper, Jesus took the cup of wine, gave thanks, and said, "Drink this, all of you. This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me."

Father, we now celebrate the memorial of your Son. When we eat this holy Meal of Bread and Wine, we are telling the entire world about the life, death and resurrection of Christ and that his presence will be with us in our future.

Let this holy meal keep us together as friends who share a special relationship because of your Son Jesus Christ.  May we forever live with praise to God to whom we belong as sons and daughters.

By Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory

 is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever. AMEN.

And now as our Savior Christ has taught us, we now sing,

(Children rejoin their parents and take up their instruments) 

Our Father: (Renew # 180, West Indian Lord’s Prayer)

Our Father who art in heaven:  Hallowed be thy name.

Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done: Hallowed be thy name.

Done on earth as it is in heaven: Hallowed be thy name.

Give us this day our daily bread: Hallowed be thy name.

And forgive us all our debts: Hallowed be thy name.

As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.

But deliver us from evil: Hallowed be thy name.

Thine is the kingdom, power, and glory: Hallowed be thy name.

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Breaking of the Bread

Celebrant:       Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast. 

Words of Administration

Communion Song:  Father, I Adore You (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 56)

Father, I adore you, lay my life before you, how I love you.

Jesus….

Spirit…

Post-Communion Prayer

Everlasting God, we have gathered for the meal that Jesus asked us to keep;

We have remembered his words of blessing on the bread and the wine.

And His Presence has been known to us.

We have remembered that we are sons and daughters of God and brothers

    and sisters in Christ.

Send us forth now into our everyday lives remembering that the blessing in the

     bread and wine spreads into each time, place and person in our lives,

As we are ever blessed by you, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Closing Song: How Great Thou Art, (Renew!  # 250)

O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder.  Considered all the worlds thy hands have made.  I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, thy power throughout, the universe display. 

Refrain:  Then sings my soul, my savior God to thee.  How great thou art!  How great thou art!  Then sings my soul, my savior God to thee.  How great thou art!  How great thou art!

Dismissal:   

Liturgist: Let us go forth in the Name of Christ.

People: Thanks be to God! 

Move from the Reign of Quantity to the Reign of Quality

11 Pentecost, Cp13,August 4, 2013  

Ecclesiastes 1:2,12-14;2:18-23  Psalm 107:1-9,43

Col. 3:1-11  Luke 12:13-21

Lectionary Link

    Carlos Slim Helu, Bill Gates, Armancia Ortega, Warren Buffett,  Larry Ellison, Charles Koch, David Koch, Li Ka-Shing, Liliane Bettancourt and Bernard Arnault.  These are the current top wealthiest persons on Forbes list of Billionaires.  It is a phenomenon to be impressed with quantity; the greatest number is a telling sign of importance and that is why I try to make reverse quantity work in my favor, as in, one who is missing most of his hair.  We have an official score card for quantity in all manner of things; the Guinness Book of World Records is a constantly being updated book of world records.

  We are very impressed with quantity when it comes to money and possessions.  We often worry about the quantity of our money and possessions.  We often live in the fear of lack and as a result we can practice hoarding.  But hoarding is really the financial virtue of savings and one can never have enough savings.  We save for the rainy day and if we don’t have rainy days to use up all of our savings before we die then it gets left to our survivors.

  Coupled with our Gospel lesson today we have the introduction of the book of Ecclesiastes with the famous phrase, “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”  This expression was written by a wisdom writer in the Hebrew Scriptures.  One should really read Ecclesiastes to appreciate the variety of writing genres that are found in the Bible.  The writer of Ecclesiastes claims to be one who seeks wisdom; Ecclesiastes,  had the fortune of being very wealthy but came to realize that the one who was wealthy was equal in death to the one who poor because “you can’t take your wealth with you.”  You leave your wealth to be managed by those after you and you cannot guarantee how your wealth will be used after you are gone.  It often happens that one’s wealth leaves discord in a family after one is dead.  Heirs often disagree or lose their good relationships in the distribution of the one’s wealth.  Such was just another vanity of vanities for the writer of Ecclesiastes.

  The distribution of inheritance is the context for the Gospel parable of Jesus in today’s Gospel.  Jesus seems to be a bit different kind of wisdom teacher than the writer of Ecclesiastes.  The writer of Ecclesiastes wrote in small wisdom phrases, sometimes call Proverbs.  The book of Proverbs is from this wisdom tradition of the Hebrew Scriptures as well.  Jesus as a wisdom teacher was known both for his proverbs but also for the more indirect method of teaching in his use of parables.  The parable is a story.  A story is a an art form in language performance; a story employs the re-representation of some life events in time-lapse form so that an entire sequence of events is sped up because events of an actual past cannot be truly parallel with the time when the story is being told.

  A parable or story speeds up past time and the purpose of any story is to get people engage as if they were a part of the events of the story.  And as we hear a story we interact with the events of the story by making judgments upon the characters who are presented in the story.  And we may be drawn to a story for entertainment purposes and suddenly in the parable there is a “gotcha” moment.  Suddenly we are confronted with having made judgments on the characters in the story and the character turns out to be us.  A parable is not a frontal attack; it is an indirect attack, even a sneaky attack.

  "Jesus please be the arbitrator in our family inheritance dispute."  Jesus is the one who had no earthly wealth at all except the clothes on his back.  Jesus was not going to leave any property or money and he did not have any heirs in sons and daughters.  Jesus had no family and no money to leave anyone. And perhaps this would seem to make him the perfect person to arbitrate the family will.  When the worth of a departed loved one is reduced to the money that has been left, then the value of that person’s life has been minimized or missed or lost.

  The parable of Jesus was about how we assign or express the value of people in life.  What is my treasure?  What is my worth?  We are taught to regard personal value or worth in terms of dollars and cents or in terms of property that we own.  Yes, money and property can seem to be important treasures in our lives supporting the comfort levels of our lives.

  With his parable, Jesus confronted his listener about the tendency to measure the worth of life through the practice of greed.  Greed is the addiction to have more for the sheer purpose of having more.  Greed is to make the reign of quantity supreme.  I cannot rest unless I have more.  Quantity of money and property is what will allow me to rest and take my ease.  Quantity of money and property is my blessing and my heavenly rest.

  And then Jesus stated the ancient truth that was also stated in Ecclesiastes, “Sorry, but you  can’t take it with you.  You came into this world naked and you leave as dust.”  And once you’ve left this earth what is the quantity of your money and property going to do for you?  You cannot control it after you’ve gone.  Yes, there is the legal instrument of the Will; but if money and property is the only thing that you leave in this world, then you have no guarantees and final say.

  The issue in life about human worth is the issue of having treasure and wealth toward God.  Jesus had nothing but he has left endless wealth to everyone by the example of his life.  This is the kind of treasure and wealth that we need to be concerned about in our lives.  Can we live in such a way towards others that we create a domino effect of goodness that will truly ripple into the future forever?  A legacy of greed and hoarding can inspire future greed and hoarding as a devastating domino effect of sin and selfishness and  we already know this legacy in our world because of uneven distribution of the goods of this world.  The message of Jesus is to inspire us to counter the selfish hoarding syndrome that is so prominent in our world.

  We cannot avoid money and property in life even if we try to; so the issue is not really about the goodness or badness of money and property; the issue is about over-coming the reign of quantity in life with the reign of quality.  Life is not about having the most; life is about how we put together what we do have.

  How are we putting together what has been given to us in our lives?  How are we putting our community lives together?  How are we putting our families together?  How are we putting our parish life together?  Are we learning to let the reign of quality take over our lives.

  Money and property are nice; they are so easy to count.  But we can fool ourselves in thinking that we can quantify our value by such easy mathematics.  Quality cannot be so easily quantified.  How many tiny and small acts of kindness does a parent perform to add to the character of a child?  How many small acts of mentoring does a teacher perform to bring excellence to a student?  The love and care and concern with which we express our life gifts towards the people in our life cannot be quantified. But in our world where quantity is often regarded as being what is valued we are tempted to say, “What’s the use in bring quality to life?”

  The Gospel of Jesus for us today: Let us not be dominated by the reign of quantity in life in terms of money and property; let us enter the realm of the reign of quality and let us be rich toward God by placing ourselves in this tradition of the domino effect of the love and kindness of Jesus.  Amen.