Secrets

 It was said once, on a hill in Judea, “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 6:1 NIV) Yep, that would have been the Galilean, and the sermon was on a mount somewhere, it is recorded.

 I knew a man once who still reminds me of that sermon. He owned a women’s shop in one of our state’s cities of around 10,000 population. I won’t mention his name out of respect, but I think of him often. I liked him, and I think you would have too. He volunteered for his community, helped the poor, and never uttered oaths or disparaging words. Some even euphemistically called him “a saint.” At his funeral service, the priest opened with, “The gates of Heaven opened wide this week” and not a soul in the audience would have disagreed.

 When they read his will, they found that he had bequeathed his shop to two women who had worked for him for years. He and his wife had no children. When he died, a niece and nephew flew in from Tennessee after the funeral and settled his estate, a substantial one. A friend on fixed income offered to place flowers on the grave from time to time if the kinfolks would help with the cost. They declined.

 He died some 40 years ago, but his goodness has never quit guiding me though I readily admit to falling short. What I remember was that he never talked about the good things he did. And, he never once mentioned religion other than once telling me the Catholic ladies in town were having a spaghetti supper and we should maybe go.

 Not long before he died, we talked about his wife, who passed first. I was surprised to learn that she wasn’t Catholic, but a Methodist. Each Sunday, they both dressed and went separate ways, meeting back together for lunch. When I expressed surprise, he simply said, “We never talked about it.”

 As I said, his goodness still resonates with me, not as often as I would wish, but often enough that I think it makes a difference. And that’s why that sermon of so long ago still resonates.