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This is a story I read once, probably in an Internet mailing, and this week it came back to me more as a lesson than as a story as I watched two of the ushers in our church. One is in his mid-nineties, but still never fails to welcome and to serve. The other is a little younger – late 80’s – and always has a twinkle in his eyes and a great story that begins with “I don’t know if you ever heard this one, but there was this guy…” This one’s for Pete and Bud:
It was a drizzly Sunday but the church was still packed. The assembly was seated and singing the Offertory Hymn, “Have Thine Own Way, Lord.” As they sang, as young man came in through one of the side entrances.
The young man was dressed in jeans, a dirty and torn Bob Marley T-shirt, and wearing beat-up sandals. His hair was done up in dreadlocks and was matted and dirty. His face was thin and his eyes glazed. He looked very different from the church members who were all decked out in their Sunday clothes.
The young man wandered into the middle aisle staring blankly around at all the people who were staring back at him. It was clear that some were looking on him with revulsion, some with indignation, some with pity, and some with astonishment and curiosity. But, being good Christian folks, they kept on singing and watching warily.
He eventually made his way to the center aisle where he slowly sat down, apparently to listen to the singing, or maybe just because that was as far as he could go. Still the people sang, and stared, and wondered if they should do anything. Whispered imprecations were blended in with the lyrics of the hymn and the young man started to hum along with the melody. Everyone seemed to be thinking that someone ought to do something; but who?
Then, from the back of the church, one of the ushers started walking slowly up the aisle toward the young man. He was an older gentleman, and had been serving as an usher for years and years. Despite his arthritic hands and knees, he could be found every Sunday standing in the narthex of the church warmly greeting church members and visitors, always with both hands and arms extended for a firm double-handed handshake or a genuine grampa-hug. And now he was walking toward this dirty and disheveled young man who had dared to intrude into this holy place, God’s house.
The singing wavered a bit as people held the hymnal in one hand and pointed to the usher with the other. Their faces now reflecting the anticipation of what was going to happen. Was there going to be a scene? Would the old man have to tussle with the young man? What should they do? What if he needed help subduing this upstart? A sense of fear rippled through the crowd and the usher finally reached where the young man had seated himself.
He stood there for a moment as if bracing himself for what was coming. Then slowly and carefully, he moved around a bit so he was beside the young man. He got down one knee, and the onlookers could see it cost him some pain. He rested one hand on the floor, and slowly lowered himself into a sitting position right next to the young man, and joined in on singing the third verse of “Have Thine Own Way, Lord.”
“Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Wounded and weary, Help me I pray!
Power, all power Surely is Thine!
Touch me and heal me, Saviour Divine!”
Again the singing wavered a little as the people saw this act of love unfold. They knew why this was happening: The usher did not want the young man to be alone there in the middle of the church. He was willing to do what it took to prevent that from happening. There were a few watching whose eyes brimmed a little, a few whose voices cracked a bit as they stifled an urge to cry. Some broke out in huge smiles of understanding and appreciation and sang all the louder. Some stopped singing and just stared. The pastor stepped out from behind the pulpit, moved forward on the dais a little, and also sat down on the floor. In the assembly a scattered few moved into the aisle and sat down, too. And they kept singing.
“Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Hold o’er my being Absolute sway
Fill with Thy Spirit Till all shall see
Christ only, always, Living in me!”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
In that usher, I see the servant of God I long to be.
In that young man, I see me as I am.
In all of us, I see what the people saw, and I pray to God that when the time comes, we will all have sense enough to sit down and humble ourselves be Him who gave up everything just to come and be with us.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I also want to share with you just a few quick sentences from the Mission Week services we’ve attended a couple of years ago. For those of you who aren’t Catholics, a Mission is similar to what other denominations call a Revival. We get together, outside of the regular worship services, for a time of learning, teaching, praying, singing, rejoicing, renewing, and reenergizing our faith and our lives. The presenter was Fr. Chuck Faso, OFM (http://www.frchuckofm.org/) and he’s really quite a guy, one of those absolutely passionate Franciscans whom God has gifted with many, many talents and a great big heart. So, here are a few gems, some his, some mine, but now, all yours because they were always God’s.
- “If you cannot name it, you cannot claim it.”
- “I’m fine.” Really? You know what fine often stands for: “Fouled-up, Insecure, Neurotic, and Empty.”
- Don’t just take a nap. Surrender to those sheets.
- Don’t take, give until all is given.
- Only surrender will give you freedom.
- Take a few minutes and write down all the things it means to be Catholic. If someone asked you what does it mean to be a Catholic, how would you answer? (And if not Catholic, the Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Methodist, Buddhist, Bahrainis, agnostic, Universalist, …) How would you describe why you are [one of those]?
- Night ends and day begins when you can look into the face of everyone you see and recognize them as a brother and sister, a child of God.
- When you talk to God, what do you call Him? What names do you use when you speak to Him? (My personal favorites are Abba and El Shadai)
- Do the best you can and can the rest.” (In Indian Health Service we often used to say, “Do the best you can with what you’ve got and bag the rest.”)
- I am “Christed.” Because I am anointed.
- WOW! WOW! And WOW!!
- God’s not worried about the things I cannot do, so why should I be worried about them?
- Not even God can make everybody happy all the time.
- If you really knew as much as you think you know, you’d know it’s not enough.
- Now matter what, when God looks at you through Jesus’ eyes, all He sees is how beautiful you are.
Well, you know me; I could go on and on. Make it a great Aloha Friday, and remember, this is the day the Lord is making, so live it up a little.
You know I love you, so: Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever — at your service.
Chick Age Quod Agis
Lyrics form THE SERVICE HYMNAL copyright 1922 & 1961. “Have Thine Own Way, Lord!” by Adelaide A. Pollard and George C. Stebbins. Copyright 1935 by Geo. C. Stebbins, Renewal, Hope Publishing Company, owner.
Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
