June 17, 2007
Pentecost III

The Bill

The following story is a story that I believe sums up what God's love is to us as related in the passages of scripture for this week. A little boy came into the kitchen one evening while mom was fixing supper and he handed her a piece of paper he'd been writing on. After wiping her hands on the apron, she read it, and this is what it said:

For mowing the grass, $5.
For making my own bed this week, $1.
For going to the store $.50.
For playing with baby brother while you went shopping, $.25
For taking out the trash, $1.
For getting a good report card, $5.
For raking the yard, $2.

The mother looked at her son, standing there expectantly, and a thousand memories flashed through her mind. So, she picked up the paper he had given her, and turning it over, this is what she wrote:

For the nine months I carried you, growing inside me. No Charge
For the nights I sat up with you, doctored you, prayed for you. No Charge,
For the time and the tears, and the cost through the years. No Charge
For the nights filled with dread, and the worries ahead. No Charge.
For advice and the knowledge, and the cost of your college. No Charge.
For the toys, food and clothes, and for wiping your nose. No Charge.
When you add it all up, the full cost of my love my Son. No Charge.

That is what God's love is is all about. There is no charge. Just a lot of hope, God hoping for us, God feeding us, God watching over us. The story concludes with this: When the son finished reading, he had great big tears in his eyes. He looked up at the mother and he said, "Mama, I sure do love you." Then he took the pen and in great big letters he wrote on his bill: PAID IN FULL.

Silito

Take a look at some of the previous messages from the Rector