Notebook
The driver was not having a good day! First he was annoyed by two children on bicycles and then was seriously irked by an elderly driver whose car stalled at traffic lights and, to cap it all, another motorist made it almost impossible for him to overtake. The children, the elderly driver and the road-grabbing motorist, were left in no doubt that they had all done wrong. Horn blared, voice was raised, and gestures were offered.
All the while, the driver was unaware of the unmarked Garda car behind and when the siren sounded and lights were flashed, the motorist came to an angry halt. On approach, the Garda was reprimanded by the driver: “What are you stopping me for? You saw how much of the road those children took up on their bicycles and that old one at the traffic lights should not be on the road. As for that last one, I had to follow for nearly two miles before I could pass him out. And you stop me? What about the others?” The Garda said, “I know, it’s just that there are two bumper stickers on the back of this car – one reads ‘I LOVE JESUS’, and the other ‘JESUS IS MY GUIDE’ – so we assumed this car must be stolen!”
Not my story, of course, but I like the point it makes. In one of the readings at a recent Sunday Mass, we were reminded that to say we have faith and not show kindness is a contradiction. It belies the life we should live if we are truly people of faith. In practical terms, we are told, that it is not enough to say to a poor person, “Now mind yourself and keep warm” if we don’t do something concrete to allow for the minding and the warming.
I remember once seeing a man on a street. He had all the hallmarks of a heavy drinker, he sat on an old blanket and in tattered clothes. At his side was a small container, into which he hoped a few coins might be dropped, and on it he had written – in large and urgent lettering, ‘DRINK’. I smiled as I made a modest contribution and he smiled too. He was saying to me and anyone who chose to help him that day, I will be using this to buy drink. Of course, there is a deeper truth here, around the man needing help but there is honesty in it too. Sometimes we can justify not helping someone because we know the help might not be well used. There is a practicality in that we cannot deny, but maybe sometimes we just need to help people where they are. There are times it may simply be enough just to give the gift and leave how it is used to the one receiving.
That is not to say that we cannot be, and are not, taken advantage of. That, to me, is different and we have a right to protect ourselves from those who use us without respect, gratitude or sincerity.
We need maybe to fine tune our antennae of kindness to try to make a genuine judgment call around who is sincere and who is using us. This is not easily done and sometimes we get it wrong on both fronts but at the day’s end, if we can say we tried our best, that is literally the best we can do.
We are living in a time when many call out to us to be charitably aware and there are times when this puts undue pressure on us. All we can do is try our best, giving when and what we can whilst being grateful that maybe we have the bit to give.
The bumper sticker must correspond with the one in the driver’s seat.
Bumper stickers and Morris Minors…
Thinking of the above. A priest friend, in his early days of ministry was appointed to the diocesan college. An old, retired priest lived there and he drove a Morris Minor. On the chrome back bumper, he had a bumper sticker which read ‘PRAY THE ROSARY’. My friend put a matching sticker on the other side, unknown to an unnoticed by the priest. For many months, he drove around the town with the two stickers: ‘PRAY THE ROSARY’ and ‘DANCE YOUR A** OFF TO TWEED’!