"The Philosopher's Stone" by Rev. Barbara Merritt

[Memos from Rev. Barbara Merritt and Rev. Tom Schade]

M I N I S T E R’ S   M E M O




“The Philosopher’s Stone”


The tale was told in India of a tradesman who lived in terrible poverty. He
begged a traveling saint to please take away his material suffering, and the
saint was moved with compassion. He gave the man a philosopher’s stone that
would turn any base metal into gold. The poor man was warned that he would
only be loaned this magical gift for three months.

In his delight over the new found wealth-producing stone, the tradesman
decided that a piece of scrap iron would be the best material to change into
solid gold. Only when he arrived at the market he discovered that the price
of iron had just gone up from 5 rupees to 7 rupees. The man thought this
price was unreasonably high, so he decided to come back the next month. By
then the price of iron had soared to 15 rupees. He was appalled.

But he knew he had one more month to go. He was convinced that these
artificially inflated prices would soon drop. Alas, at the end of three
months the price not only didn’t return to its former level, it had gone all
the way up to 50 rupees.

The foolish man was unaware that even if he turned a small piece of iron
into gold he would be enormously wealthy. Instead, he returned home
unwilling to pay the price. The philosopher’s stone went back to its owner,
and the tradesman lived in poverty as he had before.

I have known this story for over 30 years and always shook my head in
disbelief that you could be that stupid, until last week when I needed to
buy gas. The gauge showed a ¼ tank when I stared noticing a startling rise
in the prices since the last time I purchased fuel. I thought I’d wait a day
before I filled the tank. Only, the next day the prices had risen by 2 cents
a gallon. I was dismayed. So I borrowed my husband’s car which had plenty of
gas! The next day, feeling a tad guilty, I took my own vehicle to church. By
now the red warning light for low fuel was on, and the price had risen
another penny. I was developing a new appreciation for the tradesman’s
foolish thrift. The gasoline prices were too high! If I wasn’t willing to
pay $2.89 a gallon a week ago, why would I now pay $2.99? It was the
principal of the thing!

But on the way home from church it occurred to me that running out of gas
would not improve the quality of my life. So I broke down and paid the full
price. Even the rational analysis that waiting one additional day had only
cost me 15 cents more (for 15 gallons) did not console me. I was a defeated
woman. And I am told that even higher prices are coming soon.

Back in my youth, at the tender age of 19, I had a summer job after my
freshman year in college, pumping gas at the local army base in Ft. Lee,
Virginia. The price was 27 cents a gallon. I was the first female they had
ever hired for that work. (I was limited to the express lane where I and my
co-workers spent a lot of our time debating the Viet Nam war with one
another and our customers.) But the gas was cheap and resources seemed to be
in limitless supply.

Now, decades later, I am one of those people who would gladly pay an
additional $1.00 in taxes per gallon, if only the money could go to
alternative energy research. But until that happens, I like so many others,
am left grumbling about the high prices and the sudden increases.

But stories about the philosopher’s stone and my unwillingness to pay more
at the gas pump were never really about what is in my wallet.

The real and invaluable gift that all of us are given is this human
existence. We might think we can postpone our spiritual life to a more
auspicious season. We might believe that we can well afford to wait to
express our gratitude until that moment when circumstances dramatically
improve and/or our relatives and friends start treating us better. We might
be hoping that we’ll be more generous with our time and money when the
market improves, or our pays increase, or we win the lottery.

But whether you are a tradesman in ancient India or a frustrated motorist in
2007, this is the day. We are invited to use each opportunity and every
available resource (at whatever the price happens to be) to bless the world.



None of us get this golden moment forever. One day is a pearl of great
price. May we use it wisely and gladly.



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