The Called and the Chosen

The Called and the Chosen

Fourth Sunday after Epiphany

February 3, 2019

Graceann Ridlon was my sophomore English Teacher.  Miss Ridlon seemed ancient back in 1984 when she taught me.  We did not know very much about Miss Ridlon’s private life.  I think after high school I found out that she was a lifelong spinster who kept horses.  She had a distinctive gait, a dress sense that seemed rather bizarre to us teenagers – she dressed in shapeless floral dresses and wore sensible shoes, very sensible shoes.  She seemed to us eccentric.  She wasn’t warm like the other English teachers in the department.  She was no non-sense.

I googled her the other day – hoping to find out something more about her.  I was surprised to find out that Miss Ridlon was in fact only 53 or 54 when she taught us.  She had gone to Mount Holyoke College and taught for her entire life until she retired at 60.  In her retirement she volunteered for environmental and conservancy causes.

In her obituary it said, and I quote, that Miss Ridlon “prided herself on grammar and style in writing, and was known as the grammarian for the faculty of Woodstock Union High School.”

But this is the important thing that I remember most about Miss Ridlon. Miss Ridlon taught us to use the spoken and written word for good.  She was not only a stickler for grammar but also for etiquette.  On her syllabus were things like how to write a “bread and butter letter”, and how to thank a friend or relative for a present, – even if the present wasn’t something you wanted, or fit.  She taught us how to make an enquiry from a company, and how to ask in writing for an interview.  Whenever I set pen to paper, I think of Miss Ridlon.  She taught us through the way we chose to say or write, how to be decent, appreciative, kinder human beings.

I wanted to tell you about Miss Ridlon because our readings this morning are all about calling.  The calling of Jeremiah and the calling of Jesus – the former to be a prophet and the latter of course to be a savior.  Our Epistle reading, The First Letter to the Corinthians Chapter 13 famous for its use in weddings is all about our call to place the value of love about all else.  When we think of calling we often think of those amazing individuals from the Bible – Moses, Jeremiah, John the Baptist, Mary, Jesus.  Or we think of contemporary heroes of faith – Dr Martin Luther King Jr. or Mother.

But when I think about Miss Ridlon – just suppose she taught at least 60 students a year.  Over the period of nearly 40 years of teaching she must have taught at least 2,400 students – teaching them to love reading, and more importantly teaching them how to use the spoken and written word to better their own lives and the lives of others.  That is a calling if I ever heard of one.

There was a Ted Talk by Simon Synek called “How Great Leaders Inspire Action”.  In his TED talk he encouraged people to find their “why”.  Why do we do what we do.  His work has spun off into a generation of books helping people find their why.  And in Christian language – that sounds very much like vocation.  So why is this important?  He contends that if we know why we do something, we are more likely to inspire others, to find clarity and fulfilment and to make a difference in our lives and in the lives of others.

Although the work to find your why is said to take about 6 hours – here is a summary of the work.  The work begins with reflecting on your life about the most meaningful moments from your earliest memory up to now.  Those meaningful moments do not need to be moments of greatness or happiness – but of meaning.

After you collect those stories – usually with the help of a friend or facilitator – you start to figure out reoccurring themes.  And then you start to fill in the blanks”

To ______ so that _______

So the first blank is your contribution, and the second blank is the impact of your contribution.

Miss Ridlon’s “why” might be “To teach the proper use of English so that students can go out in the world to make it a kinder place”.  Or “To teach the proper use of the English Language, so that students are better equipped to face the challenges they may encounter.”  We can’t really know someone’s “why” unless they tell us – but those would be my guesses.

Your why statement must be consistent with your professional and your personal life.  Think of it this way – why are your valued at work, and why your friends love you.

It’s a very personal quest – and only you can know the answer to your why.  But what I do know is that we are all called by God for some purpose in this world whether it is within your family, friends, community, place of volunteering or work.  And it may be a huge and public calling like Martin Luther King Jr. It might be something more private – like within the walls of a classroom, or it could be like Maureen.  I want to end by talking about Maureen.  Maureen is one of the custodial workers in the building where Kathy Longee and I work at Wellesley College.  Whenever you walk in the building Maureen will great you with one of two or three greetings “Hi Gorgeous”, “Hi Beautiful”, or “You look lovely today.”  I know this is not my own personalized greeting.  She says it to everyone.  But the thing about Maureen is she means it.  She really means it.  She looks you in the eye and says it with an unparalleled kind of sincerity.   I told her one day how much I really appreciated her greetings and how they brightened my day – and she said basically she sees beauty everywhere and she just wants us all to know how beautiful we all are.  I’m not sure what her why statement would be – but what I know, in the depth of my heart, is that she is called – because she makes all of our days just a little bit sweeter because she is in our lives. 

Amen.