“I want to thank… last my mom. Mom, I don’t think you know what you did. You had my brother when you were 18 years old. Three years later I came out. The odds were stacked against us; a single parent with two boys by the time you were 21. Everybody told us we weren’t supposed to be here.
“We moved from apartment to apartment by ourselves. One of the best memories I have is when we moved into our first apartment. No bed, no furniture, we all just sat in the living room and just hugged each other. We thought we made it.
“When something good happens to you I tend to look back to what brought me here… You wake me up in the middle of the night in the summertime, making me run up a hill, making me do push-ups… Screaming at me from the sidelines of my games at eight or nine years old.
“We weren’t supposed to be here.
“You made us believe. You kept us off the street. You put clothes on our backs. Put food on the table. When you didn’t eat, you made sure we ate. You went to sleep hungry. You sacrificed for us. You’re the real MVP.”
This was the speech of Kevin Durant when he was awarded the KIA NBA MVP for 2013-2014. In 2008, at the age of 19 or 20, he won the NBA Rookie of the Year award. And he was a man who wasn’t “supposed to be here.”
I thought I would begin our reflections today, Good Shepherd Sunday, the Fourth Sunday of Easter, and Mother’s Day, with this inspiring tribute to a mother.
If there is one line that sums up all that we celebrate today, the end of today’s Gospel would certainly be a good one: “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
Grace of Easter
This is the grace of Easter, in the Risen Lord we see the superabundance of life and grace.
In the Good Shepherd we see how he offers his life for his flock; always walking ahead of his flock to ensure their safety; always watching over them to make sure no one is lost and ready to rescue when one veers away; always developing a personal relationship with his flock.
In our mothers we often see the self-sacrificing love and life that Durant poignantly narrates—the self-sacrificing mothers dedicated to the betterment of their children.
There is a story in the Guidepost by Betty McFarlane, who shared her mother’s success as a writer.
It had been her mother’s dream to be a writer. Finally, one day, she bought stationery and cards with her name and the title “Writer and Lecturer” on them. Then she set up a makeshift table and a borrowed typewriter to start her career as a writer. On the table was a box neatly prepared and adorned with a ribbon and a label “Acceptance Letters” for her published articles.
But before she could finish her first article, her husband left them. So she had to care and fend for the children. Her dream career had to be shelved.
She told her children, “Don’t worry about my writing, darlings. God gave me the dream, and God will take care of the dream.”
Through the years she never wrote any articles, but constantly she scribbled notes of encouragement and affection to her children, placing these in their bags or lunch boxes; composed letters to them when they were in college and later when they started their careers; communicated with friends and relatives to cheer them up, congratulate them, etc.
When the children had finished schooling and went off to live on their own and start their own families, she said she could finally go back to her dream of becoming a writer.
Fate would have it otherwise. Somehow there was always an “emergency” that needed her attention, presence and care. Her brother got into a serious accident. Her aging father in need of care moved in with her. Some friend or relative needed some support or help.
Thank-you letters
Twenty years after her mother first attempted to start a career as a writer, Betty started to go over her mom’s things. There she found the “Acceptance Letters” box. Surprisingly it was heavy and full.
As she opened the box, she saw notes and letters from the people her mother had written to through the years, with care and affection; notes and letters thanking her mother for the kind words, the encouragement and support, and how these have helped them tremendously.
These are the samples of the “acceptance letters” from her children: “Thank you, Mom, for your daily letters. I could never have made it through boot camp without them.”
“Your letter came when I was at my lowest point. You dared me to be my best, and I am now one of the top salesmen in my organization.”
“Mama, your many letters have helped me retain my sanity during this difficult time. Thank you so much for your constant support, prayers, hope and, most of all, your love.”
There were also letters from her friends: “Just a note to tell you how much my sister appreciated your support in the many letters you sent her during her years of illness.”
“Thank you for taking the time to send me the pretty note cards. Sometimes an old man like me gets the feeling no one wants to bother with him.”
Good Shepherd
“I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” This is the grace finally poured out in abundance in the Resurrection. This is a key quality of a Good Shepherd who is ready to lay down his life for his sheep. This is a mother’s instinct, or a mother’s success, the fulfillment of a mother’s dream, that her children, her loved ones, may live life well and abundantly.
“God gave me the dream, and God will take care of the dream.” God certainly took care of Betty’s mom’s dream.
One of the key principles and vision of education we share with teachers, especially public school teachers, is to love his/her students into excellence. This is true for mothers. This is true for Good Shepherds. This is the heart and soul of the grace of the Resurrection: We have been loved into excellence; we “have life, and have it abundantly.”
The Risen Lord has loved us into excellence and we become loving persons. This is the abundance of life; ex abundantia cordis, out of the abundance of the heart we give that others may experience love and be able to love.
To the Good Shepherds of our life, happy Mother’s Day! To The Good Shepherd, Our Risen Lord, we thank Him for sending us these shepherds after His own heart to channel His grace that we “may have life, and have it abundantly.”
Now we must live ex abundantia cordis, out of the abundance of the heart, our heart and soul, love others into excellence.