August 28, 2022
Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord our strength and our redeemer. Amen.
Jesuit priest Anthony De Mello writes: I heard a story about this gentleman who knocks on his son’s door.
“Jaime, he says, wake up!”
Jaime answers,I don’t want to get up, Papa.
The father shouts “Get up, you have to go to school.”
Jaime says,I don’t want to go to school.
“Why not?” asks the father.
“Three reasons, says Jaime.
First, because it’s so dull; second, the kids tease me; and third, I hate school.
And the father says, Well, I am going to give you three reasons why you must go to school.
First, because it is your duty; second, because you are forty-five years old, and third, because you are the headmaster.”
Last Wednesday, I attended the 2022-’23 school year opening convocation at Conestoga High School in Berwyn. I went with my brother Bill. Bill started his employment there in March of 1978, and he is now retiring after 44 ½ years. I had an idea of what Bill’s did at his job and what he was responsible for. Over the years, I met several friends with whom he worked, and I became friends with them too. At Conestoga High, Bill outlasted all of them, by far.
Conestoga HS seemed to be a good place to work for Bill. He was reliable, showing up when he was scheduled, and always did a good job. He took pride in his work, and it showed. This past Wednesday, as we opened the doors to enter the school, we were greeted immediately by 2 security people. “Hey Bill, how ya doing” they hollered from their desk. Bill stopped and spoke briefly with them about the Phillies. Then we walked down the hall to where they offered a breakfast, dozens of others stopped to talk to Bill.
Soon it was time for the Convocation to begin, and we headed back to a packed auditorium. Again, Bill was greeted by one person after the other. He was a celebrity! It was amazing! So amazing that the District Superintendent of the TE School District insisted that Bill sit in the first row of the hall for convocation. Towards the end of Dr Gusick’s speech, the superintendent thanked all the teachers and staff of the district who persevered through the pandemic. He talked about commitment, school spirit and “T/E Pride”. Then he segued into talking about my brother, and how Bill was retiring as the longest tenured employee in the school district.
There was a chorus of Ahhhh, as other employees expressed their sadness to the news While Dr Gusick continued with stories and memories of Bill, the audience gave Bill 3 standing ovations! I was so proud of him! As I prepared this week’s sermon, I couldn’t miss the similarities with Jesus’s word in the parable”
For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
Bill’s position at the school district was not department head, He wasn’t a teacher, nor was he a librarian. He wasn’t a maintenance worker nor in athletics. Bill spent 44 years as a custodian, and he was a very good one. In our Gospel reading, Jesus turns things upside down, as He often does. The World teaches us what a successful person is, and it taught the same thing 2,000 years ago. A successful person has power and riches. A successful person is someone who others envy because they have power and riches. Television commercials teach us that success comes with buying certain products, certain cars, and using a certain brand of toothpaste. The Marlboro man taught us smoking his cigarettes was the way to be a real man. No matter where we are in life, it is important to take a realistic look at ourselves
What we do, Why we do what we do. How we do what we do.
Sometimes, we may think of ourselves as being more important than what we actually are. Decades ago, I mistakenly thought of myself as indispensable as a State Store Manager. As if Governor Thornburg would have to close the stores when I left for the Postal Service. The stores continue to this day without Dennis Bingham, Occasionally, I had the same sort of delusions with the post office. As it happens in life, when I begin to think too highly of my skills and talents, reality comes crashing in. Maybe I’d misdelivered a letter and was called into the postmaster’s office. Or when at HQ in Washington, I showed some incorrect data in a national report.
Again, into the office. Reality returns. When this sort of reality confronts us, it is an opportunity for us to make a spiritual inventory, acknowledging the gifts God has given us and acknowledging who gave them to us. God gives all of us gifts, not so we can become boastful of them, but rather use them in His service, to help others.
That is where real humility comes in.
As I mentioned, I had some idea of what my brother did at his job. He was responsible for the cleaning and upkeep of a delegated area of the high school. In the Summer he helped out on the loading dock, shipping and receiving. And although I knew they liked him at work. 3 standing ovations in a packed auditorium showed me just how much.I had no idea of the extent his positive presence had on his coworkers. It is almost as if it didn’t matter what his job entailed, because whatever he did, his presence would connect him to others, and others to him.
When it is all said and done, Bill knows who he is.
And I will leave you with this question:
Who are we?
Let us pray:
Father, In Micah 6:8 You say, “O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” Today we choose to walk humbly with You. We choose to live by Your Holy Spirit and to follow Your lead. Help us to hear You clearly, for we do not want to walk by pride or self-sufficiency, we want to walk with You.
In Jesus name, Amen