Tuesday, January 10, 2006
KEEP YOUR END OF THE DEAL!
KEEP YOUR END OF THE DEAL!
St. Mary's Bulletin
Jan 10 2006 05:00AM
A true story and it happened in Dutchess County!
In 1897, the financier John Jacob Astor was a member of a prosperous
Episcopal Congregation in Rhinebeck, NY. They had a nice little church,
but had the membership and money to build a new and larger one. Mr.
Astor pledged $l00, 000 to the fund, a sum worth well over $2 million
today. As the church neared completion, the building committee put the
old church on the market for $5,000.
At the time, Rhinebeck had a working class Catholic community with no
church. They figured they could raise the $5,000 and expressed interest
in buying the old Episcopal Church building. But before they could sit
down to negotiate with the building committee, the price suddenly
jumped to $25,000. No explanation or reason, that was the new price,
take it or leave it. There was no way the Catholics could raise such a
huge sum, so they walked away.
But a few days later, the Catholic pastor returned and agreed to the
revised deal. He paid the $25,000 and took ownership of the building
for Rhinebeck's first Catholic Church.
Soon it was time for Mr. Astor to make good on his pledge to the
building committee. They told Mr. Astor that his gift was indeed
generous but they were counting on receiving the entire pledge.
"But you have received the full amount," Mr. Astor said, "The
$80,000 I have just given, plus the $20,000 I gave to the Catholics to
buy the old church. You received every penny."
John Jacob Astor believed in sticking to a deal.
The "deal" is this. As God loves us, God calls us to love one
another. As God forgives us, God asks us to forgive one another. As God
seeks us out and always calls us back, God expects us to seek out the
lost and forgotten and be reconciled to them. As God gives himself
totally to us in the person of Jesus, God demands that we return his
compassion and generosity to one another without limits or conditions.
As John Jacob Astor dealt with his church, God promised to deal with
us. As we forgive, God will forgive us. As we lift up one another when
we stumble and fall, God will lift us up. As we bring the life and love
of God to our homes and communities, God's love will live within us
for and beyond time. That's the deal. And if we only keep our end of
the deal, we will never be happier, even now.
PRAYER
"Lord, inflame my heart with your love that I may always pursue what
matters most - love of God and love of neighbor. Give me wisdom and
courage to act with justice, kindness, and mercy in all that I do and
say."
Any comment to today's reflection go to:
http://efoodforthought.blogspot.com/
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