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In the World–July 13, 2025

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LEARNING WHAT IT COSTS

The small town of Plympton, Massachusetts, learned that people would recycle much more readily if it cost them more to simply throw things away. According to an article published last month, the old system had let homeowners dispose of as much trash as they wanted for a flat $240 “dump sticker” fee per year. But rising landfill fees and the sheer amount of garbage being dumped was costing the city much more than they were taking in with sticker fees. Rather than raising the annual fee, they decided to try charging people $1.25–2.50 per bag of garbage dumped at the landfill. When people were faced with the per-bag cost of dumping the trash, they began recycling at a higher rate, a shift that is beneficial to the individual, the city, and the environment.

LEARNING WHAT IT MEANS

Our reading today recounts the Pharisees’ complaint that Jesus’ disciples were “harvesting” grain as they passed through a field on the Sabbath. The Pharisees were enforcing an interpretation of rabbis who said that what the disciples were doing constituted work. In this view the disciples were sinning by working, and their hunger was not reason enough to violate the law. The Pharisees seem more concerned with fidelity to a system, than understanding the heart of the law. Jesus says that they need to go back and learn what it means to value what the Lord values: mercy over sacrifice.

  1. If you could design a better garbage disposal and recycling system for your area, what would it be?
  2. When have you seen someone miss the intent and concentrate on the letter of the law?
  3. What does it mean that God desires mercy rather than sacrifice?

Additional Resources

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David C Cook Editorial

Author David C Cook Editorial

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