I recently read a story about a man who was having a
great deal of pain due to a melanoma skin cancer that
was affecting the area around his right ear. He was
receiving treatment, but the condition of his skin
around that ear made it very tender and sensitive. The
pain would not be so bad accept that it was constantly
being irritated by the weight of the glasses that he
wore. In fact, he had developed soars around his ears in
earlier years because his glasses were made with very
thick lenses which were required due to a severe sight
deficiency. When he began treatment for the skin cancer,
he used to wrap his heavy framed glasses with gauze
bandages and he would also put band-aids over the
sensitive skin. But eventually -- this "Home Remedy"
ceased to give him any relief . . . .
He needed his heavy weight glasses in order to see . . . but
they had become so painful to wear, that he was getting ready to
give up. At some point in his despair, he remembered that a brand
new Optometrist had recently moved to town and a little voice in
his head was telling him. "Go visit the new Eye Doctor -- he will
help you!" With a limited income, the old man ignored this
inner-voice, money was in short supply–he would just have to
endure the pain. But one day when this pain was particularly bad,
he remembered that the Optomotrist might be able to help.
So he dropped by the Optomistrist's office without an
appointment. Thankfully, the Dr. was able to see him right away.
When the Doc came out, the old man quickly noticed a similarity in
himself and the Dr. they both wore those extra heavy duty, thick
lenses!! The old man quickly explained about the irritation he was
having, he was desparate for anything that would help alleviate
the pain. The Dr. kindly asked the man to give him his glasses and
he would see if he could "make a little adjustment." After a few
minutes the Doc returned with the old man's glasses and explained
that he was quite certain that a mere millimeter of adjustment was
going to make a world of difference in the way the glasses were
supported around the sore ear. The old man carefully placed his
re-adjusted frames over the sore spot on his ear . . . and sure
enough, the glasses now did not rest on the sore area!!! A mere
millimeter of adjustment had made all the difference!!!
Perhaps we often discount what a small contribution can make in
the life of our church or in the situation where a little bit of
help is needed. We think to ourselves, "I don't have anything to
contribute." In fact, we know that we can all give something, but
we DISCOUNT what we might have to give. "I can only stay for half
an hour to help at ___________" or "I don't really know how to
bake – so I would not be able to contribute anything toward making
a meal for a family in need." Or, "We're on a fixed income, we
can't afford to give to God, because we're barely making ends meet
as it is." All of these reasons why we don't give of our time or
talents or finances can be valid for us at various times in our
lives. In fact, many of us were once in a better position to give
than we are now, but we felt restrained . . . or the opposite
could be true . . . . as many of us are in a better position to
give today than we've ever been, but we feel hesitant to give of
time or talents or of our wealth, because we worry more than ever
about what tomorrow may bring.
But let us return to the thought that even the most minute gift
we may offer up to God can have explosive(!!) results for God's
kingdom. As a matter of fact, we're in need of some miracles
around here in terms of the Lord's blessing on us with new
families and individuals to join our congregation . . . Here's
something from the Science World that is so new and exciting–I
think that it is going to change the world we live in – once
again!!
Many of you had never dreamed that a man could ride a rocket to
the moon and walk on that big light in the sky . . . we saw it
happen!!! Many among us never imagined that a letter could be sent
to the other side of the world in just the time it takes to type
it and push a couple of buttons! We never imagined the possibility
that humanity might actually have something to do with changing
the way the planet's weather systems work . . . . and we're
learning that this might not be such a good thing . . .
Well, putting all of our previous learning and forecasting
aside . . . Some of the newest achievements are really going to
surprise us because they are not going to originate from huge
undertakings or huge new buildings or huge structures – but
they're going to come from the tiniest particles we can imagine.
Can you imagine that scientists will change the world with
particles that are just the size of a few ATOMS?? This is the
developing science of NANOPARTICLES!! To give you some idea of how
big a NanoParticle is, a nanometer is a billionth of a meter.
Imagine if you can how big a single whisker hair might grow in
the time that it takes between razor stokes if your shaving the
beard or – ok ladies, the legs!! Even though my hair seems to grow
with great speed . . . even if you're not a scientist, you know
that this is an extremely small particle!!
So–what about these little bits of particles?? What's so great
and powerful about these little things?? Here's just a couple of
examples of where the new NANO TECHNOLOGY is taking us:
The first example is explosive!! Which may or may not be useful
to know. But if the Metal, Aluminum, is shaved down into Nano-Sized
Particles . . . it becomes explosive!! That's kind of weird, just
imagining that your Reynold's Wrap could explode . . . but this
new property of AL only happens when the AL is ground down into
Nano-Sized Particles and exposed to oxygen. The use of Nano
Aluminum could range from excelling the speed of rockets to
heating your home!! Possibly the new "Fuel Cell" techonology,
which may one day take over for lead-acid batteries, will make a
huge advance in powering cars and homes in a new Alternative
Energy World.
Now for something important to many of us. Nano-Particles that
are covered with Gold are now being introduced into the bodies of
Cancer Patients. This might make you feel better about yourself,
knowing your now getting enriched with gold inside (perhaps this
could be viewed as a material Blessing!!), but, more importantly
if you have Cancer, a new kind of therapy is coming on the scene,
where Doctors can expose your body to certain light waves which
heat up the minuscule gold covered particles that will congregate
in cancer cells . . . and guess what?? The Golden Nano-Particles
will heat up and kill just the Cancer Cells, leaving your healthy
cells alone . . . What a Blessing that would be for so many of us
and our loved ones . . .
One more illustration:
Another type of NANOPARTICLE is being developed that can
generate electricity . . . and you know this is esp. exciting to
me . . . This Nanoparticle contains the elements and structure
that work like the solar panels in my back yard, but the
fascinating thing about these minute Particles, is that a day
could come when a South-Facing Wall of your home could be sprayed
with a layer of these particles (applied like paint), and the wall
of the house would begin to conduct electricity that could then be
directed to household current. And so, we could all become
participants in a home-grown energy system as long as the sun is
shining!! We would only require supplemental power at night!! What
an amazing thing this would be, and so useful and apparently –
very inexpensive to do–once the science is perfected . . . .
May God bless the scientists and Doctors who seek to do such
things that will make people and the planet healthier@@!!
So, I have said all of this in order that we might be
strengthened in our little bit of Faith. Of course many of us give
sacrificially to God through our service and tithes and prayers
for the church and our brothers and sisters in Christ. We are
truly blessed in our giving here at Elias and for this we are most
thankful and give the honor and praise to Christ!
But we also find ourselves at times feeling deficient in faith
or insufficient to meet the needs of others . . . this is where
the Faith of the Woman who Jesus observed comes into play. She
didn't have much to give, but she gave all she had!!
Her gift was Small – but her faith was EXPLOSIVE!!! Her TWO
MITES didn't amount to much, but God was going to take what she
had and multiply it for the building of the Kingdom of God!! We
can also be rich and powerful in our giving. And Giving has many
forms, which you may ask the Holy Spirit to inform you about.
*By the way, we're always looking for people with energy and
ideas to join a Committee or two here at Elias!!
Like the minute adjustment in the man's glasses – we can make a
minute adjustment in what we give to God in order to make a huge
difference for God's Kingdom. Or like the remarkable research
being done with minuscule particles of inumerable substances . . .
the many ways in which we can give–whether little of much are
going to be blessed and multiplied in the Master's Hands. Yes,
"Little Becomes Much, When it is placed in Jesus' Hands, who is
our Lord and Coming King.
LET US PRAY:
LORD JESUS, We want for you to bless our small offerings of
time, possessions, and devotion. Multiply faith and good works in
us. Enable us to give as that Widow lady gave at the Temple when
you were there. Please continue to bless us and show us how we
might better serve you with all we do, say and give to you Glory!!
Amen
Read
more writings of Pastor Jon
Holy
Gospel according to St. Mark 12:38-44
