I had a very positive experience today which maybe not-so-coincidentally coincided with my recent comments on Matthew 25.
It was only my second personal experience with Babylon the Grape in my entire life. My first was when one of my daughters got married in a Catholic Church over three years ago. I actually sat inside the Catholic Chapel and watched her Priest perform the Ceremony. It was the first and last time I've sat in any "worldly" church in my life. It was the lightest, funniest and happiest wedding I’ve ever attended.
Today, I stood in a bread line offered by a Community Church just a half block from where I live. I have never done such a thing, but times have been tough for me lately. I am owed some money for work performed over the last 3 ½ months and have not been paid, and was told I would not be paid until next week. I had no food and was determined not to go hungry for a full four days. Anyway, this post is not about my current ills at all. This Church has a sign that said “Free Bread Every Saturday at 9:00 a.m. – Loaves of Love.”
I was wondering what would be required of me to receive some free bread. Would I have to confess that I’ve taken Jesus into my heart as my personal savior? Would I have to sit and listen to a long sermon, and then face being “love-bombed” by rabid Jesus-ites?
Would I have to prove to the Church that not only am I a member of their organization but I have “a record of long and faithful service” in their organization so that they “may consider” giving me some aid? – See Proclaimer’s book p. 305 if you like to read how WTS Pharisees think.
The line had about thirty to forty people in it and during the fifteen or so minute wait, I observed them. This all took place on the sidewalk outside the Church. There were old people who were obviously poor, single mothers who looked frazzled and old beyond their years, immigrants and even well-dressed folks who didn’t look like they should belong in a food line. A very few looked homeless or near-homeless. Some people drove up and parked their very new and nice cars to get in line.
I figured I’d get a loaf of bread, a sermon, a personal “testimony” or “witness” then I could scurry home. It was nothing like that at all. About 8 banquet tables were piled two feet high with all kinds of bread: white, rye, sourdough, Italian, nut grain, French, bagles, muffins, and even sweets! No doubt this Church gets donations from local merchants, but that’s not the point. The WTS could also get donations from local merchants like they did when they offered cafeteria style food at the assembly. The only difference was, the WTS SOLD that food to convention attendees. For a profit. A BIG profit.
Right at nine o’clock about about six people walked up three or four steps that lead to the Church and held hands in a circle. They were about to pray and invited anyone else to join them. About 8 people left the line, joined in the hand-holding and they said their prayer. I couldn’t hear the prayer, but it was only about 30 seconds long. (I hope they said the secret password "WeaskthisallinJesus'nameamen." Otherwise, their prayer was wasted and they are toast. But I digress.)
We were all asked a very few questions as we approached the food: our nationality, our age (we were given age ranges to choose from), have we ever used this service before, and how many people lived in our household. I answered all of those simple questions honestly. The lady asking them smiled and wished me a nice day. NOTHING was done to persuade any of us to join the Church or become a Christian.
While we were in line two ladies walked up to each of us, shook our hand, and told us their first name. Their smiles were full of love and obviously sincere. No "theocratic face" phony smiles there.
Instead limiting us each to one load of bread, they had no limits on what a person could take. The “experienced” ones were first in line and I could be wrong, but it looked like they were possibly abusing this free program. This one man was middle-aged, nice haircut, and nicely dressed and he carted off what looked to be ten or twelve loaves of bread and two cakes. An older Russian couple in front of me took at least 8 to 10 loaves of bread, a bunch of doughnuts and two cakes. In these two examples those individuals were too old to have their own children living at home, but perhaps there were others they were taking care of, and I will not judge them, for I just don't know.
I took only what I needed, and was grateful for that. I asked one of the ladies running the show if one needed to be a member of their Church to volunteer to help with this program. She said not at all. Just call up the office and you are welcome to help out. I noticed they had a piano in their small rec-room and asked if I could come in and practice and play it when the room is not being used. She gave me the number and name of the person who was in charge of that room, but I see no reason why they wouldn’t let me do that, from what else I’ve seen.
All this in stark contrast to the story that was related in the Matt 25 thread where a “worldly” jogger merely asked to use the KH restroom and the dubs refused, locked her out and told her to go three blocks to a gas station and use their restroom.
If Matt 25 is indeed to be believed as the way God wants it to be for our eternal betterment, then this nice little community church will be one of those who Jesus commends when he said,
“To the extent that you did it to the least of these, my brothers, you did it to me.”
On the other hand, the Watchtower Magazine Selling Corporation will suffer a wailing and a gnashing of their teeth for their cold, callous, uncaring, materialistic and greedy lust for saving their own butts by pushing hate-filled literature whose main solution for ending poverty and hunger is promoting the destruction of nearly six billion people at the hand of their blood-thirty God.
Give me Babylon the Grape any day of the week.
Farkel
"When in doubt, duck!"