The story is told of a man who asked to see heaven and hell. First he was taken to hell, where there were long tables filled with the most sumptuous foods and delicacies. When the man looked at the people’s faces there was only sadness. He then noticed that their bodies were gaunt. Next he was brought to heaven, where the man was shown the exact same scene. There too the tables were heaped with food. Except in heaven, the people appeared to be well fed, and the expression on their faces was joyful.

When the man asked the guide to show him the difference between the people’s experience in heaven and hell he pointed to their arms. There the man saw that in both places the people’s elbows were held in a straight position, so that even though they held forks in their hands they were unable to reach their own mouths. In this way, the people in hell starved amidst the bounty. While in heaven, the people understood that if they fed each other, and shared that which was before them that they could all be satisfied.

Friends, this is a story for our day. There are many in our country who are feeling economic hardship; whose very existence has become precarious. All this in the wealthiest country in the world! America’s bounty is before us; the difference between a heaven or hell of our own making is in the acceptance of responsibility to sustain one another.