October 27, 2019 - Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

"How Do We Measure Greatness?"

Audio Clip

You all know that I have a soft-spot in my heart for a beautiful story --- like this one.

The young woman inside the doorway, paused for a moment, raised her eyebrows and shrugged her shoulders, confused by my rude introduction. "A survey taker, you said? Sure. Come on in. Don't mind the mess. It's tough keeping up with my kids." It was an older home in a section of the valley where people with meager income found affordable shelter. With the little they had, the home looked comfortable and welcoming. "I just need to ask a few questions . . . " but before I could finish, a man came walking in the front door. It was her husband. "Joe, this man is here to do a survey." I stood and politely introduced myself. Joe was tall and lean. His face was rough and aged looking although I figured he was in his early twenties. His hands were like leather. The kind of hands you get from working hard, not pushing pencils. She leaned toward him and kissed him gently on the cheek. He touched her face with his hands and softly said "I love you." They may have not had material wealth, but these two were richer than most people I know. They had a powerful love. The kind of love that keeps your head up when things are looking down.

"Joe works for the borough." She said. "What do you do?" I asked. She jumped right in not letting him answer. "Joe collects garbage. You know I'm so proud of him."

"Honey, I'm sure the man doesn't want to hear this." said Joe.

"No, really I do." I said.

"You see, Joe is the best garbage man in the borough. He can stack more garbage on the truck than anyone else. He gets so much in one truck that they don't have to make as many runs.", she said with such passion.

"In the long run," Joe continued, "I save the borough money. Man hours are down and the cost per truck is less."

There was silence. I shook my head searching for the right words. "That's incredible! Most people would gripe about a job like that. But your attitude is amazing." I said.

The young woman continued, "When we had our third child Joe lost his job. We were on unemployment for a time and then eventually welfare. Then one day he went on an interview here in this community. They offered him the job he now holds. He came home depressed and ashamed, telling me this was the best he could do. It actually paid less than we got on welfare."

She paused for a moment and walked toward Joe. "I have always been proud of him and always will be. You see I don't think the job makes the man. I believe the man makes the job!"

"We needed to live in the borough in order to work here," Joe said, "So we rented this home."

Then, walking toward me, the young woman handed me a small framed paper saying, "When we moved in, this quote was hanging on the wall just inside the front door. It has made all the difference to us --- I knew that Joe was doing the right thing." It read, "If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep the streets even as Michelangelo painted or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause and say, "Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well."

Then she smiled and said, "I love him for who he is. But what he does he does the best. I love my garbage man!"

How do we measure greatness? Do we measure greatness as the world sees it or do we measure greatness in the way that God sees it? It's a rare person who at times is not captured by the hunt for material wealth --- for who hasn't fallen to the competitive temptation to compare one's possessions or one's status to those of his neighbor? I'm certainly not one to say, "How could someone be so weak?" for I'd be condemning myself --- or, Joe, who was described as being depressed and ashamed that the job of garbage man was the best he could do --- I suppose it's human nature. But, our happiness is found in divine nature --- aligning how we see the world with how God sees the world. This is the genesis of all peace, purity and happiness and this is where true greatness is found.

This is the level of holiness which the young woman in our story had reached --- her words had echoed those of great saints who believed that the value of our life does not depend on the place we occupy --- it depends on the way we occupy that place. So, where does the journey for such piety begin? Typically, it begins in hardship and trial --- it's the path to greatness which Jesus walked and it's what being a true disciple of Jesus is intended to be. For our young couple, this path included unemployment, financial challenges and the pressures of providing the necessities of life for their young children. But, it is in times like these that God's compassion reaches out to us --- as we heard in today's Psalms, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; and those who are crushed in spirit he saves."

Those willing to accept true discipleship, will not deny their circumstances but will see them as God sees them, as a form of martyrdom and as an opportunity to share in the sufferings of Christ for the redemption of the world. Father Jacques Philippe expresses this well, "By accepting the sufferings offered by life and allowed by God for our progress and purification, we spare ourselves much harder ones. We need to develop this kind of realism and stop dreaming of a life without suffering or conflict. That is the life of heaven, not earth. We must take up our cross and follow Christ courageously every day; the bitterness of that cross will sooner or later be transformed into sweetness." --- this "sweetness" which Father Philippe refers to, is the purity of love which our young couple shared through suffering together.

In our second reading, while imprisoned in Rome, St. Paul shares --- "I am already being poured out like a libation . . . I have competed well; I have finished the race." The degree to which St. Paul suffered, hopefully none of us has or ever will experience --- for the role which Paul carried for the early Church is not the role which Jesus asks of us. But, this doesn't make our challenges any easier to manage --- the sorrow from broken relationships and loneliness, the worry of illness or addiction, or our own challenges in providing basic necessities for ourselves and our family --- in these and other trials, can we say that we've truly exhausted ourselves for our faith --- or "courageously accepted the bitterness of the cross" for the glorification of Jesus? None of us is asked to enjoy these trials or even to look forward to them --- being disciples of Jesus doesn't mean that we've been born with some sort of death wish. Even Jesus experienced moments of extreme despair when facing his torments. So, how do we handle them?

Theologian Thomas Kempis shares, "A man must go through a long and great conflict in himself before he can draw his whole affection towards God. . . a true lover of Christ, and a diligent pursuer of virtue, does not hunt after comforts, but is rather willing to bear strong trials and hard labors for Christ." As with the young couple in our story, as the relatively insignificant trappings of this world are stripped away, God gives man an incredible gift --- man is allowed to see how weak he truly is when standing alone in the world. And, as his love of self is transformed into his love for God and neighbor, man realizes where true happiness is found.

In our Gospel passage, Jesus shares "the one who humbles himself will be exalted." Jesus' greatest disciples have been those who have done their best to maintain a single-minded purpose of serving the Lord and allowing God to provide for them as He sees fit --- as John the Baptist said, "He must increase, I must decrease. In this, this joy of mine is now complete." So, during moments of joy, how do we remain humble? And, during moments of sadness, how do we remain hopeful?

The lives of Jesus and the saints reveal the pathway to piety. Everything we do in life is an opportunity to express our affection for God --- it's about the choices we make. Do we choose to see the best in others or do we choose to accuse others of perceived shortcomings? In our prayer life, do we recite verses as an intimate conversation between ourselves and Jesus or do distractions reduce those moments to empty repetition? Do we sacrifice a favorite meal, or a favorite television show or some other pastime, as a way to say thank you or I'm sorry to Jesus? These holy practices of piety, allow us to overcome self-interest and worldly concerns and to see ourselves and the world as God sees us and to measure the greatness of what Jesus has done for us, with what we have done for Him. This is the revelation of true greatness and this is what brings us peace and happiness.

Let us pray --- Lord Jesus, help us to understand that being your disciple means that we will be given the privilege of suffering, as You did, for the redemption of souls. May your Holy Spirit help us to support each other during these difficult moments and may we always remember that we can do all things with You.

We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen.