Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time
February 8, 2004


How many of you know the secret of Hand me downs?

I was the fourth of five boys in the Kempf family. Aside from the personal items, a lot of my clothes and some of my toys were Hand-Me-Downs. It became a kind of mark of age when you got the next generation of stuff, because the next brother had grown too big. (I couldn’t wait for the sweatshirt with the arrow pointing up, saying, ONE WAY.) And when you got to pass it off to your younger brother, because you were too big, that was a sign of growth. (Aside note – we did get new clothes and new items growing up along with the Hand-Me-Downs.) They were seldom flashy or beautiful, but they got the job done. And they were changed in the process a bit – there was the grease on the sweatshirt from fixing the bike, a tear here from a climbing a tree, the gunpowder burn from the bottlerocket fight – and the clothing that we received was passed on with our stamp upon it. Hand-Me-Downs. Items passed from one generation to the next. We all know the concept.

Yet what is most amazing about hand me downs is that you and I would not be here this Sunday without them. Without the work of people ‘handing down’ the faith, the Newman Center would not be here. St. Paul wrote: “I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received.” The faith that St. Paul knew he handed down carefully and faithfully to his followers. Who handed them down to the next, and the next and the next, each generation passing it on faithfully, but adapting the message to the hearts of the hearers in the new situations of the world.
And now that we have received it, it is our to hand down, ours to pass on. And just what kind of people are called to transmit the message? Ah, here is the best news. Just ordinary people about their ordinary work. And that is the secret of Hand-Me-Downs. If Hand-Me-Downs could speak, they’d tell you it’s not about them. It’s about getting the job covered. And it doesn’t matter if they are a bit paint splattered or ripped, or losing a thread or two. It only matters that they are willing to be given to the next generation.

The reaction of Isaiah, of St. Paul, of St. Peter in the gospels today is precisely that, isn’t it? “I am a man of unclean lips; I am the least of the apostles, leave me Lord, for I am a sinful man”, cries each of these figures. When they perceive the destiny they are called to, that of handing down the good news, they immediately protest. But God says in effect to each one – “Hey Dummy, it’s not about you, its about the message – It’s about passing it on.” So don’t worry. I’ll cover you. That’s the secret of Hand-Me-Downs.

There was a movie that came out in 2000 called “Pay It Forward.” And the premise was simple. A teacher challenged his students to change the world. Most rolled their eyes or wrote him off as a dreamer. But one student decided he would change the world by ‘paying it forward.’ He reached out to three people to make a difference by loving them well. And he asked, not that they would pay him back, but that they would pay it forward to three other people. Different language for the same concept – handing down what has been handed to you.
This week, out of the many ways we could pray into the scripture, I’d invite you to two. First, look at the condition of the Hand-Me-Down faith that is yours. What do you know about God from those people who have loved you into faith? What is ‘of first importance’ to you about God that you want to hand down to the next generation? And as you look to what you are handing down, is there anything you need to choose? Shirt is dirty, needs washing – we call that confession. Some holes in the knowledge department, we call that study. A little rust on the prayer life, we call that our Awakening retreat in two weekends. (Shameless plug, I know…)

Second, figure out a way to ‘pay it forward’ this week. Perhaps it is an e-mail to a friend, perhaps a note to someone grieving. Maybe it is to share your faith to someone who is doubting. Perhaps it is to pay it forward for a new generation of children who might not be born because of abortion laws by letter writing to congress. Or to serve the Newman Center by becoming an officer this spring. Ask God for the grace to know how you are to Pay It Forward this week.

And so, this Sunday, the handed downs gather once again, to remember who we are and to seek strength for the journey that is our. To ask God once again for the courage of Isaiah, Paul and Peter, so that with them, we too can say “Here I am, send me.”