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We see on T.V. many special award shows, the Emmy’s, the
Grammy’s, the Oscar’s, the Espy’s, you can name more of them. Our
Gospel challenges us to reflect on a different kind of awards
presentation. Our show is entitled – The Secret of Greatness.
When Doug Meland and his wife moved into a village of Brazil’s
Fulnio Indians, he was referred to as “the white man,” an
uncomplimentary term. Other white men had exploited the villagers,
burned their homes, and robbed their lands. But after the missionaries
learned the language and began to help people with medicine and in
other ways, they began to call Doug, “the good white man.” And when
the Melands began adopting the customs of the people, the Fulnio spoke
of Doug as the “white Indian.”
Then one day, as Doug was washing the dirty, blood-caked foot of
an injured boy, he heard a bystander say, “Who ever heard of a white
man washing an Indian’s foot? Certainly this man is from God.” From
that day, whenever Doug entered an Indian home, it would be announced, “Here comes the man God sent us.”
The Secret of Greatness.
Eighty-year-old Clara Hale has served as foster mother to over 500
babies born to drug-addicted mothers. She cares for them until their
own mothers can do so. These babies enter life with a drug dependency
themselves. That makes “Mama” Hale’s job harder. “When a baby is
crying for a drug,” she says, “all I can do is hold it close and say to it, ‘I
love you, and God loves you, and your mama loves you. Your mama
just needs a little more time.’”
The Secret of Greatness.
John Penne is a retired businessman. He and his wife developed
cancer at the same time. His wife died, but John lived; and his cancer
went into remission.
While driving back and forth from the hospital for regular
treatment, John noticed the number of sick people waiting at the
hospital’s bus stop. Sometimes the weather was bitter cold and these people, many of them elderly, were obviously in pain. John went to the local chapter of
the American Cancer Society and said, “Give me a car and a little gas
money, and I’ll volunteer my days driving these unfortunate people
home.”
For ten years now, John has donated his time doing just that.
The Secret of Greatness.
After graduating from Georgetown University, Anne Donahue
volunteered a year of her life to work at Covenant House in New York
City.
Every night at ten o’clock Anne and another volunteer put gallons
of hot chocolate and bags of sandwiches into the Covenant House van.
For the next couple of hours, the familiar van with a dove painted
on its door tours the city’s juvenile prostitution areas.
Anne explains the reason behind the tour. “We’re out there
because we know that a lot of kids haven’t tried Covenant House yet.
About two-thirds have never heard of us.” Anne goes on to say that they accomplish something else, too. They show kids that somebody truly cares, that somebody’s out there
who’s not interested in buying or selling them. After her first year as a
volunteer, Anne said: “I was very depressed. What kind of God would
let kids suffer so much? … Finally it got to me…God’s not going to
come down and show us his love. We have to let God’s love work
through us.”
The Secret of Greatness.
In reading a review of this unique awards presentation — a certain
reviewer – by the name of Jesus had this to say:
“To the winners — Well Done — Good and Faithful Servant”
I wonder, what will Jesus say to us?