During the weekend of June 15—Father’s Day—I was watching the US Open and I noticed that my favorite golfer, Phil Mickelson, was still in the game. Tiger Woods had still not won, and Phil had just completed a great putt. The commentators later reported that when Phil had completed his putt and was leaving the green, he passed by a young boy on the shoulders of his father and he handed him the golf ball. The boy was elated. The commentators remarked that that was vintage Mickelson. At that point another commentator said in a rather critical way that Mickelson has “this problem of always wanting to be liked”. Right away, I was annoyed. What is wrong with doing something nice? Does there always have to be a selfish motive behind every good deed? Does a simple gesture like handing a golf ball to a boy have to have an ulterior motive?
One of the problems in our new world is that people are suspicious of everything, even good deeds. There must be something sinister behind every action. Why can’t we be nice, or kind, or good for its own sake? Jesus once said that you should love your enemies because loving your friends is something everyone can do. Put another way, doing good things for others and even caring for those who do not deserve it is what we are supposed to do.
I once saw a cartoon in the New Yorker that had a picture of a man smiling as he looked at another man and said, “I am a nice guy. Who finished first?” The world, of course, feels differently, captured in the old saying, “Nice guys finish last.” I am still thinking about another nice guy who is no longer with us -Tim Russert. Most of us did not realize how nice he was because we assume that to arrive at the top of your game or the “top of the heap”, you usually have to do some mean and selfish things, and even step on a few people. I do not want to canonize Tim Russert into sainthood. He is a sinner like the rest of us. Nevertheless, it is no secret that he loved his family, idolized his father, was extremely close to his son, was a huge fan of the Buffalo Bills and a devout Catholic whose faith meant something to him. It was part of his lifestyle and practice, and, dare we say, part of his being. He was definitely a nice guy who finished first.
Marvin Henk, Pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church in Mamaroneck, would like to invite his congregation, friends and everybody interested to join conversations about religion, politics, books, music, and life in general.
Marvin
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About Me
- Marv
- Born in Salisbury, MD, I grew up in Des Plaines, IL, and Freemont, CA. I am married to Kathleen who is a teacher at Rye Presbyterian Nursery School. I have two daughters, Erin and Allison. I graduated of Valparaiso University, the Lutheran School of Theology of Chicago, Union Theological Seminary in NY, and Princeton Theological Seminary. Ordained at Trinity Lutheran Church, Staten Island in 1974, I served there as associate pastor and religion instructor until 1978. In 1978 I became pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church in Mamaroneck, New York. I enjoy sailing, watch baseball, ran the New York City Marathon three times and play racquetball. I love to travel and visited (almost) all of the United States, much of Europe, parts of Latin America and the Middle East. I volunteer on the Board of Greenwood Union Cemetery Board in Rye and as a Chaplain to the Mamaroneck Fire and Police Departments. I have served on the BoD of the Rye YMCA and the Samaritan Counseling Center in Rye. I volunteered on the Ethics Committee for the Village of Mamaroneck, the Committee for Immigration and Hispanic Relations in Mamaroneck, and on various ELCA committees.
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