ABUNDANT AND AMAZING GRACE

Abundant and Amazing Grace

 In Brennan Manning’s book entitled, “The Ragamuffin Gospel,” he relates a story about Fiorello LaGuardia.  Yes, he’s the man in whose honor they named that famous airport.  When Fiorello LaGuardia was mayor of New York City during the worst of the Great Depression, he was adoringly labeled ‘The Little Flower’ by New Yorkers because he was only five-foot-four and because he always wore a carnation in his lapel.  He was a colorful character who used to ride along in the city’s fire trucks, or raid speakeasies with the police during Prohibition, or take entire orphanages to baseball games.  And whenever the New York newspapers went on strike, he would go on the radio and read the Sunday newspaper comics for kids.

 One bitterly cold night in January of 1935, Mayor LaGuardia turned up at a night court that served the poorest ward of the city.  The mayor dismissed the judge for the evening and presided over the court himself.  Within a few minutes, a poor old woman was brought before him, charged with stealing a loaf of bread.  She told LaGuardia that her daughter’s husband had deserted them, her daughter was now sick, and her two grandchildren were starving.  But the shopkeeper from whom the bread was stolen was in the court and refused to drop the charges.  “It's a real bad neighborhood, your Honor,” the man told the mayor.  “She’s got to be punished to teach other people around here a lesson.”  

 LaGuardia just sighed.  He turned to the woman and said “I’ve got to punish you.  The law makes no exceptions--ten dollars or ten days in jail.”  But even as he pronounced sentence, the mayor was already reaching into his pocket.  He extracted a bill and tossed it into his famous sombrero saying: “Here is the ten dollar fine which I now remit in your name.  And furthermore I’m going to fine everyone in this courtroom fifty cents for living in a town where a person has to steal bread so her grandchildren can eat.  Baliff, collect the fines and give them to the defendant!”  The following day New York newspapers reported that $47.50 was turned over to a bewildered lady who had stolen a loaf of bread to feed her starving grandchildren, with fifty cents of that amount being contributed by the red-faced grocery store owner, along with seventy petty criminals, people with traffic violations, and several New York policemen, each of whom had just paid fifty cents but gave the mayor a standing ovation.  My friends, that’s grace!

 Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!