The sister who taught religion to the juniors at a Catholic high
school was ill. Another sister, Sister Joan, was going to substitute for
her. She was a superb teacher and a compassionate listener. But as
Sister Joan entered the classroom, one of the students–wanting to look
smart and cool in front of his classmates–uttered under his breath, just
loud enough to be heard, “oh brother”.
Sister Joan warmly greeted the students and explained the day’s
lesson. She then went around the room handing out the assignment.
When she came to the student who made the remark, she simply said,
“Thanks a lot. That hurt.”
She knew who had “outsided” her.
“Outsiding” someone — to marginalize a person, to intentionally place
that individual outside the group, to make sure that an individual
understands his or her “place”. We “outside” many individuals who
don’t measure up to our standards of success and standing, who don’t meet our wants and expectations, whose mere presence, we fear, will
diminish our vision of ourselves and our group. But at Pentecost, no one
was left on the “outside”, no one was left beyond the margins. Peter and
the apostles realize that the Jesus they encountered detests such
“outsiding” — and the Spirit of Pentecost now enables them to preach to
all, opening the hearts and minds — and ears — of those present to hear
God’s invitation to embrace the love of the Risen One.
I close, God calls everyone to his church. The Spirit gathers all
into the community of faith. The problem is, we humans, the Church,
don’t always agree with the people God calls. I pray this for us all. May
the fire of Pentecost make us ministers of God’s reconciliation in our
time and place, refusing to “outside” anyone but make it possible for
everyone to take their place in the household of God. On this Pentecost
Sunday, when we say often All are Welcome, may we really believe it
and act like we believe it — All of Us, The Church
Archive for the ‘Cycle B’ Category
Outsiding 5-23-2021
Saturday, May 22nd, 2021The Simple Truths of Service 5-16-2021
Sunday, May 16th, 2021(This is a true story as told by Barbara Glanz, CSP.)
A few years ago, I was hired by a large supermarket chain to lead a
customer service program to build customer loyalty.
During my speech I said, “Every one of you can make a difference
and create memories for our customers that will motivate them to come
back. HOW?
Put your personal signature on the job. Think about something you
can do for your customer to make them feel special; memories that will
make them come back.
About a month after I had spoken, I received a call from a 19 year
old bagger named Johnny. He proudly informed me he was a Down
Syndrome individual and told me his story.
“I liked what you talked about”, he said, “but at first I didn’t think
I could do anything special for our customers. After all, I’m just a
bagger”. “Then I had an idea. Every night after work, I’d come home and
find a Thought For The Day.” If I can’t find a saying I like”, he added,
“I just think one up!”
When Johnny had a good Thought For The Day, his dad helped
him set it up on the computer and print multiple copies. Johnny cut out
each quote and signed his name on the back. Then he’d bring them to
work the next day.
“When I finish bagging someone’s groceries, I put my Thought
For The Day in their bag and say: “Thanks for shopping with us.”
It touched me to think that this young man, with a job most people
would say is not important, had made it important by creating precious
memories for all his customers.
A month later, the store manager called me. “You won’t believe
what happened. When I was making my rounds today, I found Johnny’s
checkout line was three times longer than anyone else’s! It went all the
way down the frozen food aisle. So I quickly announced, ‘We need more cashiers; get more lanes open!’, as I tried to get people to change
lanes. But no one would move. They said, “No, its okay, we want to be in Johnny’s lane. We want
his Thought For The Day”.
The store manager continued, “It was a joy to watch Johnny
delight the customers”. I got a lump in my throat when one woman said,
“I used to shop at your store once a week, but now I come in every time
I go by, because I want to get Johnny’s Thought For The Day.”
A few months later, the manager called me again. “Johnny has
transformed our store. Now when the floral department has a broken
flower or unused corsage, they find an elderly woman or a little girl and
pin it on them. Everyone’s having fun creating memories. Our
customers are talking about us; they’re coming back, and bringing their
friends.”
A wonderful spirit of service spread throughout the entire store…
and all because Johnny chose to make a difference!
Johnny’s idea wasn’t nearly as innovative as it was loving. It came
from his heart, it was real. That’s what touched his customers, his peers…and those who read his story.
Great service comes from the heart…Will you be a Johnny today?
Love one Another 5-9-2021
Sunday, May 9th, 2021I have a truly sad story for you today. Couple of years ago, I was
called to the cemetery to officiate at the burial of a woman who had
no parish priest. She was very old – 97 – and had been active to the
end. But when the hour for the service came, there was only one
mourner, her 75 year old son.
“Tell me about your mother, “I asked. “She must have been a
positive, energetic woman to have lived so long entirely on her
own.”
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “She was difficult. She had
no idea how to love. She was never abusive to me; she was just
nothing to me. And now she is gone.”
And so he cried for what might have been, could have been,
should have been. He cried and spoke softly to himself the
saddest words in our language, “Too late.”
Too late! May none of us ever have to speak those words. But
how can we avoid it? There’s only one sure path and Jesus laid it
out for us his gospel: “Love one another as I have loved you.” A simple formula for a life without regret. And yet we
misunderstand it all the time. We keep confusing the cheap
imitations with the real thing. Infatuation, sentimental tears, the
teenage crush, a passionate song, that warm and cozy feeling – all
very nice, but they’re not love.
To love is to give a piece of one’s heart and not take it back.
Love sticks around in the good days and the bad ones. It does
what needs to be done in tiny pieces and can be done even by the
smallest of us.
Love has its bad days when its heart is cold and there are few
cheery thoughts to warm it. But even then, love does not falter,
and does not take back that piece of the heart that it gave away.
Love’s work is never done, but its yield is never ending.
True love will never have to speak the words, “Too late!”
Long ago Jesus our brother gave his whole heart to us once and
for all. May he help us to give our hearts to one another and never take them back. May he help us never have to say: – “Too Late /
Too Late!” Let me close with this:
OH GOD,
The bumper sticker said:
“SMILE IF YOU LOVE JESUS.”
So I SMILED all day long…
And people thought I was acting a little weird.
The bumper sticker said:
“HONK IF YOU LOVE JESUS.”
So I HONKED…And the policeman said I was disturbing the
PEACE.
The bumper sticker said:
“WAVE IF YOU LOVE JESUS.”
So I WAVED with both hands, lost control of the car, and
crashed into a TELEPHONE pole.
OH GOD!
If I cannot SMILE…or HONK…or even WAVE…
How will Jesus KNOW I love him?
OH CHILD OF GOD!
Mere smiling or honking or waiving is too EASY!
IF you really want to love Jesus, you must love one
ANOTHER! PLEASE DON’T FORGET!
