26^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gospel – Matthew 21:28-32

Words and Actions

Mass at Mt Tabor

Bear with me; it’s rather long!

The night janitor at Pinewood Elementary died last Tuesday. Heart attack in the hallway, 2 a.m., found by morning staff.  Stanley Okoye. 67 years old. Worked there nine years. Quiet man. Mopped floors, emptied trash, locked up.  Principal called an assembly to announce it. Expected maybe a moment of silence.

Instead, forty kids started crying. Not polite tears. Gut-wrenching sobs.

Teachers were confused. Most barely knew Stanley existed. Then a fifth-grader stood up. "Mr. Stanley taught me to read." The principal blinked. "What?"  "I was failing. Too embarrassed to ask for help. I'd hide in the library after school. Mr. Stanley found me one night. Asked what I was reading. I said nothing. He said 'Let's fix that.'"  Another kid stood. "He helped me with math. Every Wednesday. For two years."

Another, "He brought me dinner. My dad works nights. I was always hungry. Mr. Stanley started leaving sandwiches in my locker." Another, "He talked me out of killing myself. Let me call him at 3 a.m. when it got bad."  Forty kids. All with stories. Stories nobody knew.

Stanley had been running an entire secret tutoring program. After hours. No pay. No permission. Just kids who needed help and a janitor who stayed late.  They found his supply closet. Lined with donated books. Snacks. School supplies. A sign-up sheet, "Need help? Write your name. I'll find you. -S"  His phone had 127 contacts. All students and former students. Text chains going back years. "You've got this." "Proud of you." "Keep trying."

One kid brought a Harvard acceptance letter to the funeral. "He proofread my essay seventeen times."

Another brought a report card. Straight A's. "Failed fourth grade twice before Mr. Stanley." The funeral home couldn't fit everyone. Over 300 people. Most of them kids Stanley had helped. Kids nobody else saw. A teacher stood up. "I've been teaching 30 years. I see these kids every day in classrooms. Stanley saw them in hallways. In hiding spots. In the spaces we missed. He caught the ones falling through our cracks."

The school created a scholarship in his name. "The Stanley Okoye Second Chance Scholarship." For kids who are failing but trying. They turned his supply closet into a resource room. Kept his sign-up sheet on the door.

But here's the truth. Stanley helped 200 kids over nine years. And died alone in a hallway at 2 a.m. Nobody there to catch him when he fell. The kids visit his grave every week now. Leave notes. Report cards. Acceptance letters.  "You saw us when we were invisible."  That's all. That's the story.

A janitor who saved kids in secret and died before anyone could thank him properly. Look around. Someone's doing this right now. Helping in shadows. Seeing the invisible.  Not just saying the right words but acting on them!

Today’s Gospel seems straightforward.  A father asks his 2 sons to come work for him in the vineyard.  One says Yes and one says No.  End of story?  Not so fast!  The one who said Yes never shows up.  And the one who said No changes his mind and comes to the vineyard.  They both had a choice to make; they both made a choice eventually!   But that choice wasn’t really made when they answered their father.  The choice was finally carried out in their actions, how they followed up their words!

Choices are not just about words; they are about how we follow up, how we act!  Put your money where your mouth is, put up or shut up, practice what you preach!  We hear it every single day.  Actions speak louder than words!

Many of you have been following me for quite a while, some of you (amazingly) ever since I began these reflections 6 ½ years ago.  So I ask you this question, the same one I ask myself – is it all just words? Do we hear the words but not really listen?  Or do we take the words to heart?  Do they energize us?  Do we find a way to put those words into action in our daily lives?   “And they’ll know we are Christians by our love.”