A sample of courage and honesty . . .

 

A successful business man was growing old and knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business. Instead of choosing one of his Directors or his children, he decided to do something different. He called all the young executives in his company together.

He said, 'It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO. I have decided to choose one of you. 'The young executives were shocked, but the boss continued. 'I am going to give each one of you a SEED today - one very special SEED. I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO.'

One man, named Jim, was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly, told his wife the story. She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed. Everyday, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew.

Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing.
By now, others were talking about their plants, but Jim didn't have a plant and he felt like a failure. Six months went by -- still nothing in Jim's pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Jim didn't say anything to his colleagues, however. He just kept watering and fertilizing the soil - He so wanted the seed to grow.

A year finally went by and all the young executives of the company brought their plants to the CEO for inspection. Jim told his wife that he wasn't going to take an empty pot...

But she asked him to be honest about what happened. Jim felt sick to his stomach, it was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he knew his wife was right. He took his empty pot to the boardroom. When Jim arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other executives. They were beautiful -- in all shapes and sizes. Jim put his empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed, a few felt sorry for him! When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives.

Jim just tried to hide in the back. 'My, what great plants, trees, and flowers you have grown,' said the CEO. 'Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!'
All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Jim at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered the Financial Director to bring him to the front. Jim was terrified. He thought, 'The CEO knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me fired!'

When Jim got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his seed - Jim told him the story. The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. He looked at Jim, and then announced to the young executives, 'Behold your next Chief Executive Officer. His name is Jim!'

Jim couldn't believe it. Jim couldn't even grow his seed.
'How could he be the new CEO?' the others said. Then the CEO said, 'One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead - it was not possible for them to grow.

All of you, except Jim, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Jim was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new Chief Executive Officer!'

With one heart . . .

Artist: Johannes Vermeer

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_in_the_House_of_Martha_and_Mary_(Vermeer)

Bethany Decisions

Author: Irene Zimmerman, OSF

 

As Jesus taught the gathered brothers

and Martha boiled and baked their dinner,

Mary eavesdropped in the anteroom

between the great hall and the kitchen.

Her dying mother’s warning words

clanged clearly in her memory –

“Obey your sister. She has learned

The ways and duties of a woman.”

 

She’d learned her sister’s lessons well

and knew a woman’s place was not

to sit and listen and be taught.

But when she heard the voice of Jesus

call to her above the din

of Martha’s boiling pots and pans,

she made her choice decisively –

took off her apron and traditions,

and walked in.

(Used with permission)

July 17, 2022: Susan Fleming McGurgan Preaches for the Sixteenth Sunday ...

Who is my neighbor?

 

In this liturgical calendar year, the Gospel reading for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time is that of The Good Samaritan.  I once had written a reflection on this Scripture from the Inn Keeper’s point of view.  I post it here for your reflection.  I invite you to consider “stepping into the parable” and writing your own reflection.  Blessings!  Jean Hinderer, CSA

 

Shalom to you!

I am the owner and manager of this establishment which some would like to call an inn. It seems to be the only place on this rugged stretch of road between Jerusalem and Jericho.  I see a lot of strange happenings along these heavily traveled paths, for it is a major trade route.  One has to be vigilant on these roads, especially when the band of robbers surprise unsuspecting victims.

 I am often fortunate to encounter a number of travelers who are merchants, pilgrims, temple elders, and foreigners from nearby provinces who are looking for work.  I know that some are not of my faith, but my wife says I need to be open and offer hospitality to anyone who seeks refuge from the desert sun, or needs rest from walking the dirt roads, or who may be on pilgrimage for atonement of sins long ago.  I have a young new family and the extra money is essential for me so I can feed and clothe my family, besides paying taxes to the governor! 

I learned a lot from my father when he was an innkeeper in Bethlehem.  When I was a child, he often told me stories of the people who came to his establishment.  He always enjoyed telling one story in particular of a young pregnant woman, who traveled with a man with strong hands and an anxious heart.   Since this was the time of the census, they sought a place to stay with their relatives, but no one would make room for this unwed mother to be.  It was my father who gave them a place to stay.

So I now encounter this Samaritan man – I can tell by his accent and the way he is dressed.  He is carrying someone on his donkey and is heading here to my desk.  We are a simple establishment. No magnetic swipe, cards, no room service (unless there is money to accompany the request) and no extra set of clean towels.  This tall, quite burly Samaritan says that he found this Jew along the roadside, beaten and left half dead.  Apparently this man encountered those robbers that I spoke of earlier.   The Samaritan requested a room for him to care for this injured man. I accommodated and even gave him those extra towels with no charge – my wife said that would be the compassionate thing to do.  Early the next morning, the Samaritan handed me money, two days wages, and wanted me to give the injured man further care with a bed, food, and healing oils.  I agreed to do so immediately.  I guess it was his eyes, his gentle voice, and his deep concern for this traveler.  He didn’t even know his name.  He said that he would return in a few days and pay me with more money if what he had given me was not enough. 

He then turned, started to walk out the door, but turned again and spoke a blessing to me and my family.  I wondered if he was a follower of the man from Galilee whom they call, Jesus.  This Samaritan man was so compassionate toward this traveler, a Jew.   When he returns, I will ask him where I can find this Jesus.  

~ Based on the Parable of the Good Samaritan ~ Luke 10:25-37

 

In Plain Sight . . .

 

Once upon a time, there lived the old Rabbi Eisik in a wretched little tenement flat in the city of Krakow in Poland. Eisik lived in extreme poverty with his wife and children. Through all the hard times, Eisik had kept his faith and looked after his family as best he could.

And so it was that he believed, when he had a dream one night, that the dram contained a message from God. In the dream, he had a vision of a chest of gold, hidden beneath a particular bridge in the grounds of the royal palace in Prague.

At first, he hesitated to believe in what he had dreamed. But when the dream recurred a second time, and then a third time, he decided to make the journey to Prague.

But when he found the bridge of his dreams, he found that it was guarded day and night by sentries, and he didn’t dare to start digging. Nevertheless, he came to the bridge every morning, and walked around it all day until evening.

Eventually, the chief guard, noticing the rabbi’s odd behavior, asked him, in a very friendly way, whether he was searching for something there, or perhaps waiting for someone.

Something prompted Rabbi Eisik to tell the friendly guard about the dream that had brought him all the way to Prague from Krakow. The guard laughed: ‘Oh dear,’ he said. ‘You poor old fellow with your worn-out shoes – you have tramped all this way for the sake of a dream. Well, more fool you, for trusting a dream. I can tell you that if dreams were to be trusted, then I’d be on the road as well, because I once had a dream that told me to walk to Krakow, and to search out a hovel in the poorest district, belonging to someone called Rabbi Eisik. There I was supposed to search behind the stove, where I would find hidden treasure. Just imagine how I was supposed to find that treasure in a strange town, where there must be hundreds of Rabbi Eisiks!’ and he laughed again.

Rabbi Eisik bowed graciously, and turned back home, to find the treasure hidden closer to him than he could ever have imagined. (Author/Source Unknown)

 

The Power of Vulnerability . . .

 

A story is told that a young man who was raised into an atheistic family environment was training to be an Olympic diver. He had no religious influence except his outspoken Christian friend in school. The young diver never paid much attention to his friend's sermons but he heard them often. One night he went to the indoor pool at his college. The lights were all off, but with big skylights under a bright moonlight, he had plenty of light to practice by. The young man climbed up to the highest diving board. He turned his back to the pool as he prepared to make a somersault. As he went to the edge of the board and extended his arms out, he saw his shadow on the wall. The shape of his body was in the shape of a cross. Instead of diving at once, he knelt down for the first time and finally asked God to come into his life. As he stood, a maintenance man walked in and turned the lights on. The pool had been drained for repairs that night. (Author/source Unknown)

A Story Told Again and Again . . .

 

A reporter was covering that tragic conflict in the middle of Sarajevo, and he saw a little girl shot by a sniper. The reporter threw down his pad and pencil, and stopped being a reporter for a few minutes. He rushed to the man who was holding the child, and helped them both into his car.

As the reporter stepped on the accelerator, racing to the hospital, the man holding the bleeding child said, "Hurry, my friend, my child is still alive."

A moment or two later, "Hurry, my friend, my child is still breathing."

A moment later, "Hurry, my friend, my child is still warm."

Finally, "Hurry. Oh my God, my child is getting cold."

When they got to the hospital, the little girl had died. As the two men were in the lavatory, washing the blood off their hands and their clothes, the man turned to the reporter and said, "This is a terrible task for me. I must go tell her father that his child is dead. He will be heartbroken."

The reporter was amazed. He looked at the grieving man and said, "I thought she was your child."

The man looked back and said, "No, but aren't they all our children?"

(Author and source unknown)