Mario's Smile
Joe Killian • October 29, 2015
I met Mario yesterday at The Blessing Board here in Oakmont where I live. He was there to pick up furniture for his home. I was blessed to be there to help him. The Blessing Board (TBB) is a ministry that provides furniture and household goods to those in need. My friend Tom Mitlo founded The Blessing Board in his garage eight years ago. Tom likes to refer to TBB as a furniture bank similar to a food bank. Nearly twenty families a week back their U-Hauls into the huge warehouse. I am a part of the team that fills them with donated furniture.
In this Sunday’s Gospel Jesus preaches the Sermon on the Mount. After reading it see if you agree with me that Jesus would approve of The Blessing Board.
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain,
and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him.
He began to teach them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you
and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.
Rejoice and be glad,
for your reward will be great in heaven.” Matthew 5:1-12
The Sermon on the Mount is understandably one of Jesus’ most well known sermons. His message was so countercultural that many in His time rejected it outright. Have things changed much in 2000 years? I don’t think so. That doesn’t mean that the “Blessed” are not out there today.
For an hour yesterday I was blessed to spend time with Mario. I don’t know why he and his family are in their current situation. All I know is that God blessed Mario in a truly unforgettable way yesterday. My job is to escort clients around TBB showroom as they choose their furniture. When Mario sat in his “new” recliner for the first time his smile melted my heart. He couldn’t thank us enough as he drove off with a truck full of furniture.
When Mario woke up yesterday he had nothing in the way of furnishings for his home. Last night he and his young children slept on their new beds. This story is only partially about Mario. When we read Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount we need to recognize that the blessed one in this story is my friend Tom. He gave up a lucrative business to be merciful to those in need. Tom will tell you that he did so out of obedience to God’s call on his life. You and I are called to live the Sermon on the Mount as Tom does.
What’s stopping you?
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The story continues...I'm still working on the pondless waterfall in our front yard. I shared this project with you two weeks ago in Playin' In the Dirt. Since then I've had to rework sections of the stream three different times because we were losing too much water. I am now an expert on evaporation rates and excessive splash, two causes of water loss. This morning I tore the whole thing apart and I'm starting over.
Have you ever watched DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda? I stumbled across it recently and thoroughly enjoyed Jack Black's performance as a bumbling, noodle selling, kung fu enthusiast, giant panda named P o. Set in ancient China, it is more than a humorous slapstick comedy. The core message of the story jumped out at me as I have been focusing recently on the concept of being. Po is shockingly identified as the Dragon Warrior and he reluctantly enters training. The goal of the training is to receive the Dragon Scroll, which is believed to hold the secret to limitless power. Now I don't want to spoil the big reveal but I will say that what Po realizes is the same as what I speak to in the concept of being and authentic identity. So, where do we find the secret to our "power?" I praise You, because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works! My very self You know. Psalm 139:14 God knows it; and we must seek Him with all of our hearts in order to find it. As it was in the movie, the answer is stunningly simple. Our authentic identity is already within us. The challenge for Po in the movie was in seeing himself accurately and not the way others saw him. Even his teacher scoffed at the idea that Po was anything more than an underachieving dreamer who overate when he was anxious. Po's problems are rooted in the fact that he believes the lie of his false identity much more than he does his authentic one. Is it possible that you do the same? Who could have imagined that beneath all of Po's girth lived the Dragon Warrior? What's hidden from view in you? Seek God for understanding as to who He created you to be. Spoiler Alert: the secret of your limitless power is already in you. God placed it there and He wants you to be who He authentically created you to be.
Maria and I have been playing in the dirt a lot recently. First we replaced our French drain and then we embarked on a creative project intended to change the entire look of our front yard. My brother Jeffrey and I installed a new front step.
