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August 22-29, 2007

Satisfaction guaranteed

Warm-up Question:

What is the most you’ve ever spent on a single item of clothing?

 

Roy Pearson claims his dry cleaner lost a pair of his pants, so he sued the cleaner for $67 million dollars.

The case began in 2005, when Mr. Pearson says he brought several suits to Custom Cleaners in Washington, DC to be altered and cleaned. When he picked his clothes up days later, one pair of pants was missing. Pearson asked to be refunded $1,000, the price of the suit.

A week later, Custom Cleaners said they had found Pearson’s pants; Pearson said they weren’t his. Custom Cleaners offered to settle the matter for $12,000. Pearson refused.

By May 2007, Pearson had reduced his claim to $54 million, which included his legal fees, the cost of a rental car every weekend to take his clothes to another cleaner, and more than $51 million to help other dissatisfied customers sue businesses. The focus of his lawsuit was no longer the missing pants, but what he said were misleading signs at the cleaners that promised “satisfaction guaranteed” and “same day service.”

In June, a D.C. Superior Court Judge ruled against Mr. Pearson, and ordered him to pay Custom Cleaners’ legal costs. Custom Cleaners has offered to waive this requirement, because community fundraisers have met its legal fees. Pearson has filed an appeal.

Roy Pearson is himself an administrative law judge in the District of Columbia. A judicial tenure commission has recommended against renewing Pearson’s $100,512-a-year contract, partly because his lawsuit demonstrated “a lack of judicial temperament.”

 

Discussion Questions

  1. Advocates of tort reform cite the cost of frivolous lawsuits as a danger of the legal system. Would you consider this case frivolous? Why or why not? (“Tort reform” is the effort to change, and make more reasonable, the laws concerning what happens when there is a breach of duty that leads to someone being liable for damages. It would change how much a person could sue another person or company for in a law suit.)
  2. What do you think about the judge’s ruling in the case?
  3. If the cleaners in fact lost Mr. Pearson’s pants, what would you consider appropriate compensation?
  4. When you see a sign or advertisement like “satisfaction guaranteed,” “world's best...,” “lowest price—guaranteed,” or “immediate service,” how literally do you take it? What is the intention of the advertising, no matter how outrageous the promises made are? (What's the bigger picture?)

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, August 26, 2007.
(Text links are to oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year C at Lectionary Readings.)

Isaiah 58:9b-14
Psalm 103:1-8 (4)
Hebrews 12:18-29
Luke 13:10-17
 

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection
They say consistency is the hobgoblin (a mischievous creature) of small minds. If so, then the small minded must certainly be the hobgoblins of those with really big ideas. Today’s Gospel is one of those (not uncommon) passages that make this point.

Jesus repeatedly comes in contact with other, presumably faithful Jews, who challenge his faithfulness. The challengers, in this case the rulers of the church, point to THE LAW, which says a person must not work on the Sabbath. They believe this sacrifice demonstrates a right relationship with God. In this way, Jews remember that God rested on the seventh day, and that he delivered them from Egypt where they had no rest from work.

Interestingly, in this case, the elders admonish the faithful not to seek healing on the Sabbath. Not only is it wrong, in their minds, for Jesus to heal on the Sabbath, apparently, it’s also wrong for anyone to “make God work” on the Sabbath.

Jesus, on the other hand, is trying to show that there is no day or time when it is inappropriate to do God’s work, and no occasion when we shouldn’t seek God’s intervention and presence in our lives. Doing so can never be sacrilege. On the contrary, it is a reflection of faithfulness and trust.

Jesus is trying to give the people an understanding of faith beyond a set of actions, observances, and sacrifices. In the new covenant, faith is reflected in a loving, trusting relationship with God and with his people.

This is a radical message today just as it was 2,000 years ago. In fact today, when science and human reasoning have reached such heights, it’s tempting to believe we can see and list the symptoms of any condition. But in doing this, we miss the big picture.

Righteousness is not something we can put on like a coat, or wrap ourselves in like a blanket. There are certainly outward signs that a person is living a life of faith guided by God’s Word, but the only true test is what lies in the heart and mind of each of us—the places only God knows well.

The Pharisees hold fast to the letter of the law, but Jesus makes clear to us that sin, and salvation, begins not in what we do or say, but in what we hold in our hearts.

Discussion Questions

  1. Why was it so difficult for the church leaders to see the big picture?
  2. Is it important that others see evidence of your faith? Why?
  3. What is the effect today of differences among believers and Christian denominations about what it means to be a Christian?
  4. How has Jesus shown that we should deal with these disagreements and differences?

Activity Suggestions

Consider two aspects of Mr. Pearson’s lawsuit:

  1. Under the law, what is the big picture?
  • Which parties (Pearson, the dry cleaners, the judge in the case) appear to focus on the big picture?
  • What keeps the other(s) from seeing the big picture?
  1. As a Christian, what do you see as the big picture?
  • Does this understanding suggest a different solution to the dispute? What would some of those solutions be? (You may wish to consider Romans 14:13-17 in addition to today’s Gospel.)


  Closing Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank you for sending Jesus as an example of righteousness. Help us to focus on his message of love, compassion, and forgiveness. Help us to ignore the daily concerns that might keep us from seeing clearly what you would have us do. We ask this in the name of your son, Jesus Christ. Amen
 

Contributed by Jocelyn Breeland
Fairfax, VA
 

Permission to reproduce for local use. Copyright © 2007 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. ELCA Youth Ministries. 1-800-638-3522, ext. 2447. To offer your comments or responses to Faith Lens, e-mail:  rod.boriack@elca.org.

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