We know, when we ride through the streets of Newark or Trenton or Flemington or Somerville, we know that there are people living there who are trapped by their poverty, people who can’t even imagine a better life for themselves or their children, people who have festering sores of addictions and failures and ignorance and illiteracy and hopelessness, sores that go unhealed. But we don’t think about such things, we ignore the gap and focus on our own luxuries. We fail to recognize that those tax increases we hate will improve our schools and heal the sores of ignorance. We fail to recognize that the ability to obtain even a minimal level of health insurance starting on January 1st will provide the care that we take for granted to our brothers and sisters in need and heal the sores of hopelessness. We fail to realize that every coat we provide this fall to the Bessie Higgins program at North Reformed Church in Newark and every gift that we give to the Hunterdon Family Promise Interfaith Hospitality Network, that you will soon be hearing more about, will serve to heal the wounds of so many, too many, other children of God whom God loves just as much as she love you or me. All of these things call our attention to the Gap, and I know each of you well enough to know that once you see that gap, you will mind it, you will narrow it! And when we do, we discover what Timothy was told to promise to the wealthy in his community: "They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life." - Excerpt from sermon 9/29/13
Posted on: Thu, 03 Oct 2013 20:42:41 +0000