RESPONSE TO THE WORD Good morning, everyone. Today is Children s Day in our church and the two readings and response today are for our children. However since they have all gone to Sunday School it is not directed to them but to their caretakers - us. We are their parents, grandparents, aunts & uncles and their teachers, including those in schools, day-cares and Sunday School. No matter what our station in life may be, we all play a part in teaching our children and grandchildren and other people s children as well. And in doing do, I m reminded of a quote about teachers given by Maya Angelou who said: We may forget what our teachers teach us but we will never forget how they made us feel. We know that all our children, despite their best attributes and life-skills, require our help and guidance from time to time - even if they don t believe they need it. I m reminded of the young boy who was so much further ahead academically than his peers that it was decided to send him to The School for the Gifted. On his first day there, he could not get in. Did they not realize he would be coming today? How could they forget to leave the front door open? He kept pulling and pulling on the door which had a sign on it that read PUSH. I guess reading the signs was not one of his best skills and like I said: Children do need our help and guidance from time to time And that s where we come in. In our first reading today from ACTS 4 we learn of the rejected stone that became the cornerstone. There were those times, as care-givers, that we had to console our children about being rejected, whether it was due to bullying or being left out or not seeing the potential that we saw and encouraged in them. As a school
teacher I came to realize two indisputable facts about my students: Each one of them had a back story and a forward story. The back story helped me to understand their classroom behaviour and the reason for that behaviour. Once I understood that, I could approach them without rejecting them and further propelling their misbehaviour. I remember one such student who I was at odds with in Grade 5. I then moved to Dr. Losier Middle School and she followed me there so I had the pleasure of sparring with her for three more years. We did come to understand each other and after I retired I received a letter from her which said in part: You and I have had a lot of disagreements and we definitely didn t always see eye to eye on things but to this day, if anyone asks, you were the best teacher I ever had. And then to give me a final dig about my insistence that I wanted two draft copies for every major assignment, she added: Draft 1 & 2 included which they were. There was also another student I encountered in Grade 8 & 9 who often questioned many things teachers were teaching her. She was very good in debating and I welcomed the challenge since I had been part of a youth parliament program and, being slightly older than her, I had debating skills that could counter hers. Unfortunately for her, other teachers considered it a sign of disrespect not a friendly challenge. She came to me one day in tears because another teacher had asked the class what they were going to be after their schooling had ended. Her reply: a lawyer. The teacher pointed out that with her attitude as a student she could never hope to succeed in law school.
I calmed her down and, without knowing it at the time, I reminded her of her Forward Story. If anyone in your class is going to make a good lawyer it is you. You have great debating skills and you often remind me that I don t know everything. If I ever need a lawyer in the future, I ll be calling you. That idea of having a forward story for our children is addressed in the second reading today from Matthew: The Parable of the Three Servants which is one of my all-time favourite passages from the Bible. In 1996 I began my last eight years as a teacher in a provincial school. In my very first year there I started a tradition of getting to know my students, and they me, before the actual work of reading and writing began. I did, however, remind them that to understand most of the classic literature, on which many more modern literary works were based, they would have to be exposed to two sources: Greek Myths and The Bible. The first one I studied in college and the second one I learned in Sunday school. Before getting too technical, I would give them situations and multiple choice questions that focused on humanity and how we saw each other in class and in the world. I would ask then to give me honest answers but some would give me responses that they thought I wanted to hear. A situation like this one: There is a very poplar boy in your class that everyone would like to be friends with because if you weren t he just might make fun and even bully you. Now. What If you heard him make a racist remark about a fellow classmate. What would you do: a) Tell him to stop and risk being taunted yourself b)laugh along with him, even though you disagreed or c) Do Nothing. Except for a very few, the C response was the most popular. That s it, I told them, a bit
sarcastically, be noncommittal and do nothing. After all, it s not your problem nor do you want it to be. After a few of these types of questions, I would tell them the story of Leroy. Leroy was the top student in his class who studied a great deal, answered most questions asked by each teacher and excelled in every subject except for Phys. Ed. Well, nobody s perfect. In his class was Bobby, the most popular boy, star of all the varsity sports, and his girlfriend, Lana, Captain of the Cheerleaders. Before I tell you what these two students were like, I want you to know you that they were an anomaly. Most of the varsity players I taught over the years were also top academic students. Well, lookee here, Lana. It s LEEROY. I suppose you studied hard for the test next period, right LEEROY. Some of the students laughed while some others, including Leroy, ignored him. Why do you work so hard, Leroy, said Lana. What is that all going to get you in the end. There are no jobs around here. Why not be like Bobby and me: study less and party more. For the first time that year Leroy spoke up. A time will come when my purpose here on earth will be made clear to you. At first they all looked at each other as if Leroy s words didn t make any sense but then Bobby mocked his response: Wait, this has to be said with expression: A TIME will come when my PURPOSE here on earth WILL BE MADE CLEAR TO
YOU. His friends laughter became hysterical and continued on until the teacher came in. This was repeated almost every day. Now let us move forward 18 years later. Bobby and Lana are married now and have a son who recently passed his motorcycle license. On his first ride inside the city limits, he lost control and hit a telephone pole. Despite wearing a helmet, he suffered a head injury and the doctors in the local hospital, one of whom was a high school friend, tells the couple that the surgery required might not end well. Their only hope was to give permission to a visiting doctor, a brain specialist, from the MAYO CLINIC. I would stop at that point and ask the students: If that were you which id the following decisions would you make: a) put your faith in the local doctor who is your friend b) Take a chance on this visiting doctor or c) Do Nothing. Some of my students would actually give me an angry look, some would shake their heads and some would have that look as if they just had an epiphany. I continued my story. Anxiously sitting in the waiting room, Lana and Bobby saw their friend, in scrubs, walking toward them. How is my baby? Lana cried as Bobby supported her limp frame. The surgery was successful and Bobby Jr. will be fine. The relieved parents began thanking him profusely but he pointed to the two doctors at the end of the hall. One had his back turned and the other was facing them. It is Dr. Johnson you should thank, their friend said. Just then the doctor facing then came towards
them. Dr. Johnson? Bobby asked. He shook his head no and pointed to the remaining man who had his head down, exhausted from the 5 hour surgery. Then the couple rushed toward him as he lifted his head. Both Lana and Bobby stopped in their tracks and said in unison: Leroy? Ah, said the Mayo specialist, who had just saved their son s life, The time has come But the sentence was finished by Bobby and Lana: when my purpose here on earth will be made clear to you. With that they charged toward Leroy and hugged him with the most love and respect they had ever experienced. It is only a story but it helped to show my students the humanity and respect that we, as their teachers, can not only tell them about but show them through our example. At that point, I reminded them of the parable of the three servants, emphasizing that the answer c) Do Nothing was not really an option. And finally, we can remind our children that their road in life, like ours, is often littered with obstacles which they have to circumvent or leap over. And, if it seems too difficult to find another way, we could help them discover alternatives. As another one of Maya Angelou s quotes once stated: If you can t change a situation then you must change the way you look at it. I d like to conclude now with a poem I wrote for my students when they became frustrated with roadblocks to their own success. The very last word in it is Fate, a word that comes from Greek mythology but which I always attributed to power and grace of God. It is entitled:
THE REALITY LINE There s a line we like to travel on From the bottom to the top It has no three point yield signs; Not a single, bright red STOP. This line is straight and faithful, Not a curve on it is found; No danger lurks along its side, No alarm bells ever sound. And with no bumps or spaces, The line remains intact. Yes, we would all be on it Except for one known fact: The line is not reality. It s only in our mind. The real path to our success Is much more difficult to find. The Reality Line is never straight, It veers in different ways. Just when its lights seem fixed on green, We re stuck on red for days. And when life s highway we have found - No limit, no signs, no lights, A detour takes us off the course: The wrongs replace the rights. Sometimes the bumps can give us pain And the spaces cause concern.
We re stopped on a fork stuck in the road; Not sure which way to turn. But with commitment as our map And endurance as our fuel, Our vehicle becomes desire; Dedication our only rule. Each stop is an opportunity Which our attitude will bless. Our effort will make straight the lines That lead to our success. If achievement were freely served On a platter, or on demand, Our mind should immediately view it As a trick or slight-of-hand. Like Dorothy in the land of Oz Who had only to click her heels, We must work hard and struggle first, To appreciate how victory feels. The Reality Line is never smooth, Its ways are rarely straight, It s up to us to reach that place Where it intersects with Fate. On this Children s Day may we support our children as they face rejections; encourage and remind them of their forward stories; show them the value of at least doing something; and help and guide them, enabling them to find their own way through the realities of life. By the way that student I told you about did become a lawyer and is now an equal partner with a law firm in Fredericton. She specializes in Family Law and now has a family of her own.