In the November 1998 issue of Food & Wine magazine, writer
Gerri Hirshey tells the story of her grandmother’s “special ministry” to
her family:
“As a child, I often watched my tiny Italian grandmother,
Geraldine, board a city bus cradling a mason jar of hot minestrone. This
meant that someone – Uncle Carmine, Aunt Antoinette – was down. It
didn’t matter whether they were felled by the flu, a feisty gallbladder or
the evil eye. Having heard the alarm, Nonnie (our name for grandma)
tied on an apron and started banging soup pots.
“For nearly half a century, Nonnie was the Designated Soup
Carrier (DSC) for a sprawling Neapolitan network of family and friends
in Stamford, CT. Somewhere between a field medic and a shrink, a
DSC is found in many cultures and is usually female. In the midst of
crisis, her prescriptives are basic and sustaining: Stop a minute. Taste
this. Life is good.” Nonnie’s daughter Rose – Gerri’s mother – eventually became the
DSC for her brothers and sisters and their families; now, granddaughter
Gerri has assumed the duties of DSC for her generation. The Designated
Soup Carrier’s in Gerri Hirshey’s family model Jesus’ vision for the
Sacrament of the Eucharist. Nourished and sustained by the food we
have received, we become nourishment and sustenance for others. Out
of love, Christ gives us himself in bread and asks us to become, in our
love, bread for others – Designated Christ Carriers (DCC).
Here are several examples:
A. He was old, tired, and sweaty, pushing his homemade cart;
stopping now and then to poke around somebody’s garbage. I
wanted to tell him about Eucharist, but the look in his eyes, the
despair in his face, told me to forget it, so, I smiled and I said
“Hi” and I gave him Eucharist.
B. She lived alone, her husband dead, her family gone, as she
talked at you – not to you, words, endless words. So I listened C. He sat across my desk – very nervous. He finally said it, “I
have AIDS” – by God’s grace, I did not say, how did you get
AIDS?” – I said “How can I help?” I gave him Eucharist.
I close:
As you, as we – say our Amen today at communion time – let us
remember and take to heart these words – “We receive Eucharist – to
become Eucharist for others. Let us remember and take to heart this
challenge – the work of proclaiming God’s reconciling love belongs to
every one of us, whether we collect taxes, teach math, manage a Fortune
500 company or shine shoes for a living – may we possess the greatness
of spirit and generosity of heart to be ministers of the Gospel –
Designated Christ Carriers, in whatever place we are in, whatever time
God has given us. Amen. “We receive Eucharist – to become Eucharist
for others.”
and gave her Eucharist
Become What You Receive 6-14-2020
June 14th, 2020The Most Holy Trinity 6-7-2020
June 7th, 2020There were four blind men who went to the circus. The question
arose, “What does an elephant look like?” One blind man felt the
elephant’s leg and said he looked like a tree trunk. Another felt his tail
and said he looked like a rope. The third felt his tusk and said he looked
like a sword. The last man felt his side and said he looked like a wall.
Which of the blind men was right?
Perhaps the best answer is to say that each one was right—from his
own viewpoint. But each blind man was not completely right. Only by
sharing information could they get a more accurate view of what an
elephant is like. In a sense, this is the way it is with God.
On this Trinity Sunday—we are reminded that God—is a God of
many faces and dimensions. A God who loves us and who wants to be
in a relationship with us—who has chosen to share life with us—A God
who cannot be defined, or packaged or boxed up completely—Ever. As the story of the elephant reminds us—only by sharing our
experiences of God and listening to each other, will we come to a better
awareness of the awesomeness of God.
Did you hear about the man who died and went to heaven only to
find that heaven was full? St. Peter explained that they had a special
expansion program in progress and there would be room in 2-3 weeks.
Would the gentleman mind returning to earth to wait. He said,
“delighted” and returned, only to bump into an old buddy who gasped,
“I thought you were dead.” “I was—but they’re remodeling heaven and I
have to wait a couple of weeks longer.” “You mean you actually got to
heaven and saw all the angels and saints?” “Yes”. “Tell me about
God.” “Well first of all, she’s black…..”
Of course it’s just a story, but it certainly helps destroy some of the
comic-book, fairy-tale, holy-card, stereotyped myths about God—who
was always pictured to me as an old, white, Anglo-Saxon male with a
long white beard, enthroned on a cloud directly overhead but far, far away. When we think our perception of God—our Catholic, our
Protestant, our CCD—our Catholic School perception is the only one—
we are making a BIG MISTAKE!
I close with this: Call God what you wish—Creator, Ground of
Our Being, Life Force, Spirit Within, Lover, Love, Higher Power,
Father, Mother, ABBA, Yahweh, Jesus….God can handle it—just keep
calling.
The Power of the Spirit 5-31-2020
May 31st, 2020One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my
class was walking home from school. His name was Kyle. It looked
like he was carrying all of his books. I thought to myself, “Why would
anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a
nerd.”
I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my
friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.
As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They
ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he
landed in the dirt. His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the
grass about ten feet from him. He looked up and I saw this terrible
sadness in his eyes.
My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him and as he crawled
around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye. As I handed
him his glasses, I said, “Those guys are jerks. They really should get lives.” He looked at me and said, “Hey thanks!” There was a big smile
on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.
I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. As it
turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him
before. He said he had gone to private school before now.
I would have never hung out with a private school kid before. We
talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books. He turned out
to be a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play a little football
with my friends. He said yes. We hung out all weekend and the more I
got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same
of him.
Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of
books again. I stopped him and said, “Boy, you are gonna really build
some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!” He just
laughed and handed me half the books.
Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends. When we
were seniors, we began to think about college. Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I was going to Duke. I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem. He was going to be a
doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship.
Kyle was valedictorian of our class. I teased him all the time about
being a nerd. He had to prepare a speech for graduation.
I was so glad it wasn’t me having to get up there and speak.
Graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great. He was one of those guys
that really found himself during high school. He filled out and actually
looked good in glasses. He had more dates than I had and all the girls
loved him. Boy, sometimes I was jealous.
Today was one of those days. I could see that he was nervous about
his speech. So, I smacked him on the back and said, “Hey, big guy,
you’ll be great!” He looked at me with one of those looks (the really
grateful one) and smiled. “Thanks,” he said.
As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began.
“Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a
coach…but mostly your friends. I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them. I am going to tell
you a story.”
I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first
day we met. He had planned to kill himself over the weekend. He
talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn’t have
to do it later and was carrying his stuff home. He looked hard at me and
gave me a little smile.
“Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the
unspeakable.”
I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy
told us all about his weakest moment. I saw his Mom and Dad looking
at me and smiling that same grateful smile. Not until that moment did I
realize its depth.
Never underestimate the power of your actions. Never underestimate
the Power of God’s spirit working through us. With one small gesture
you can change a person’s life. For better or for worse.
