A Sermon by Pastor Tom Lacey . . .
kindness is the secret
Luke 13:10-19, Preached at Congregational Church of Boca Raton, March 7, 2010
At one point during a game, the baseball coach said to one of his young players, "Do you understand what cooperation is? What a team is?" The little boy nodded in the affirmative. "Do you understand that what matters is whether we win together as a team?" The little boy nodded yes. "So," the coach continued, "when a strike is called, or you’re out at first, you don’t argue or curse or attack the umpire. Do you understand all that?" Again the little boy nodded. "Good," said the coach. "Now go over there and explain it to your mother."
Here are some really good thoughts on kindness, summed up in a line or two. "Two things stand like stone--Kindness in another's trouble, Courage in our own." Adam Lindsay Gordon "Don't be yourself - be someone a little nicer." Mignon McLaughlin "Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see." Mark Twain "Never miss an opportunity to make others happy, even if you have to leave them alone in order to do it." "When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people." Abraham Joshua Heschel "If you step on people in this life, you're going to come back as a cockroach." Willie Davis
In our story, a stooped woman has apparently come to the synagogue to worship. This was a woman who was in severe physical pain. Her body was bent double at the waste. Surely, every day was a struggle for her. She found herself in a physical condition that prevented her from looking up. She could not, by her own power, overcome her condition. No doubt, because of her condition, this woman was considered to be something of a freak, an oddity to be laughed at and imitated by children, an outcast. She was the kind of person you would avoid on the street. She doesn't approach Jesus, makes no request of him, but Christ turns to her. When Jesus saw her, He called her to him. When she had struggled her way to where he was, he spoke to her. He called her “Woman.” What a word of compassion! Here was a person whose beauty had long since faded. She was no longer seen as a woman, but as an object of mockery, pity and probably disgust. Others may not have, but Jesus loved her like she was.
After, nothing is said of her faith. Once healed, she praises God, not Jesus. In this regard, the story is similar to healings reported in the Gospel of John in which Jesus takes the initiative and the healing becomes a witness to or a sign of a larger truth.
The synagogue ruler, indignant over a healing on the Sabbath, makes his appeal to the people: there are six other days in the week for healing, but not on the Sabbath. His words are an indirect attack on Jesus and a strong reprimand of the people as accessories because they came on the Sabbath for healing. Jesus, at his turn, speaks directly to the ruler, and, with the use of the plural "hypocrites" likewise, indicts all of the ruler's colleagues in this burgeoning conflict. By playing on the words "bound" and "loose" he devastatingly contrasts their willingness on the Sabbath to loosen a bound or tethered animal in order to merely water it, and yet refuse to loosen one of the daughter's of Abraham, not tethered for a few hours but for eighteen years, from Satan's bond. Jesus' argument, from the lesser to the greater, is irrefutable. His adversaries are put to shame, and all the people rejoice. Christ's kindness in the face of controversy is a sign of God's reign, of the kingdom of heaven, come near.
Being kind is always good, always the right thing to do, especially when the situation doesn't call for it, or nobody expects it. As a bus slowed down at a crowded bus stop, the bus conductor leaned from the platform and called out, "Six only!" The bus stopped. He counted six passengers, rang the bell, and then, as the bus moved off, called to those left behind: "So sorry, plenty of room in my heart - but the bus is full." He left behind a row of smiling faces. The truth is, it's often not what you do, but the way you do it that matters. Keep in mind the other person's heart. Remind yourself that words have power to hurt or help. One of the greatest spiritual strengths is to inject kindness into a situation when cruelty is acceptable to most. If you can make the journey from anger to compassion, from rejection to caring, you have within you the power to transform and set free, to heal and make whole. Humorist Dave Barry made the observation that "A person who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter, is not a nice person." Practice kindness. When you have the choice between kindness or uncaring, consideration or rejection, choose the better. This is a test, and an actual emergency.
An ice cream vendor got caught in a monumental traffic jam on a hot, humid afternoon. He finally got out of his truck, went to the back and got himself a cold ice cream bar. As he munched, he realized that in the car idling behind him four young children were watching his every bite. On impulse he once more opened the back of his delivery truck and got out ice cream for those children. Of course, in moments he was surrounded by a crowd of youngsters, as refugees from the other stalled vehicles mobbed him. By the time traffic began to move again, the ice cream man had given away four boxes of ice cream bars, which he had already decided to pay for himself. When he returned to the factory, he was called into the manager's office. But instead of being fired, the manager smiled and told him it was the best public relations they had received in years. Grateful parents had been calling in all afternoon to praise the kindness of the man who had changed a frustrating situation into a moment of delight. Now if there is anything more like the kingdom of heaven than free ice on a hot day in a traffic jam I can't see it.
The parable that comes at the end of our reading draws upon a
very common experience: a man plants a mustard seed ("in the garden" seems very
non-Palestinian and may reflect Luke's context). This small act has expansive
consequence; one little act of planting, one little seed and a large,
impressive, bountiful bush in which many birds dwell, find rest, and safety
comes forth. This, says Jesus, is the way the
John's wife tells this story about her husband. John has always had a huge affection for older people and has had several elderly friends to help out in the past but this time is different. Mr. Daves has fished the same lake as my husband, John, for over 15 years. A friendship developed but when Mrs. Daves died 5 years ago, it left Mr. Daves alone. They had no children and after 60 years of marriage, he was lost, so John took Mr. Daves fishing with him every time he went, which was often. Mr. Daves was very energetic for 80 years old and never tired of being with John. After a few years of this, Mr. Daves had a stroke which paralyzed his right side, he lost his speech, and was put into a nursing home. Confined to his bed and unable to communicate, Mr. Daves soon suffered from depression which broke John's heart. John finally got permission from the nursing home to take Mr. Daves out for a ride. They were both excited to be together again but it was very painful for Mr. Daves to be lifted into John's truck, as he was paralyzed on one side and that weight pulled heavily on his good side. John worried about this but still took him out about every 10 days. John had gotten his truck a year earlier and it was the truck of his dreams, a real cowboy cadillac. He came home one day and announced he was selling it so we could buy a van that was equipped for a wheelchair. We researched these vehicles and found one which he bought. He did sell his truck and uses this van for his transportation. It isn't sporty or fast but it sure eases Mr. Daves' pain on their outings so they both enjoy them much more.
John has rigged up a special fishing rod that Mr. Daves can use so they still go fishing together at a nearby lake. Even though Mr. Daves can't talk, he has led the nursing home staff to believe John is his son. Mr. Daves is getting old now at 86 but is still enjoying life thanks to John. I don't know anyone who would give up their prized possession to help a friend.
Rabbi Harold Kushner gives us his take on what it means to come out into a world needing love and kindness. There is a story told of a man who died after having led a thoroughly selfish, immoral life. Moments later, he found himself in a world of bright sunlight, soft music and figures all dressed in white. 'Boy, I never expected this,' he said to himself. 'I guess God has a soft spot in his heart for a clever rascal like me.' He turned to a figure in a white robe and said, 'Buddy, I've got something to celebrate. Can I buy you a drink?' The figure answered, 'If you mean alcoholic beverages, we don't have any of that around here.' 'No booze, huh? Well, then, what about a game of cards? Pinochle, draw poker, you name it.' 'I'm sorry but we don't gamble here either.' 'Well, what do you do all day?' the man asked. 'We read the Psalms a lot. There is a Bible class every morning and a prayer circle in the afternoon.' 'Psalms! Bible study all day long! Boy, I'll tell you, heaven isn't what it's cracked up to be.' At which point the figure in white smiled and said, 'I see that you don't understand. We're in heaven; you're in hell.'
Heaven, the story suggests, is growing to do and enjoy the
things that make us good, good and human. And by contrast, the worst kind of
hell is not fire and brimstone and little red figures with pitchforks. The worst
hell is the realization that one could have been a real human being, but it's
too late. So, now, make growing in kindness your life's ambition. Be generous
with compliments. Find the strength to be truthful, but not hurtful. Have
compassion especially on the ones God gives you to love and look after. May
God's kingdom come because of your kindness.
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