Reward For Saying Yes! 

Rev. Marcel Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Ascension of the Lord & Mother’s Day 

St. Mary’s Assumption Church, Whittier, Ca

May 5, 2016

Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of Ascension. On this day, we commemorate the Ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven, according to the Gospel of Mark 16:19, Luke 24:51, and Acts 1:2. His Ascension into heaven reminds us of the destiny of his followers. A Christian is a pilgrim. We are on a journey, and when someone begins a journey, he or she wants to get to the destination. The hope of the Christian pilgrim is the destination of heaven. Heaven is our destination. Discussions about heaven, some say, are oftentimes shrouded in mystery; that since no living person can say with certitude how heaven is like, there’s no point talking about it. 

Beloved in Christ, even though our knowledge of heaven is imperfect, it is perfect to say that heaven is the reward of righteousness. It is the reward of compassion. It is the reward of love- love of God and neighbor. It is the reward for feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, welcoming the strangers, attending to the sick and the imprisoned for the sake of Jesus. It is the reward of not getting tired of doing what is good. Heaven is the reward for those who said yes to God. As we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord, we remember in a special way, the awesome women in our lives who particularly said yes to God by agreeing with him to allow us be born and to see the light of the day. Today, we celebrate our moms!

This morning I am going to share with you a Youtube video forwarded to me by my Nigerian friend Lydia Valch. It’s titled “The world’s most toughest job.” It is about a group of guys who created a fake job and posted it online and in newspapers. After several young men and women had applied for the job,  a real interview was conducted via webcam. (The names of the candidates that applied for this job were not given, but I assigned names to each of the applicants for a better understanding and appreciation of the story). This is how the interview went:

Interviewer: The job you are applying for is not just a job, but probably the most important job. The title of this job is Director of Operations, but it’s really so much more than that. The responsibilities and requirements are so much extensive. Now, the first requirement for the job is mobility. This job requires that you do your work standing up most or really all the time, you must be constantly on your feet, constantly bending over, constantly exerting yourself, high level of stamina is required. 

When he said this, Chris said, “Oh, Oh okay!” with his mouth wide open and still speechless. 

Mary said, “That’s a lot.” 

Laura asked, “For how many hours?” 

Interviewer replied, “135 hours, unlimited hours a week, basically, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.” 

George asked, “I am sure one will have the chance to sit down from time to time?” 

Interviewer said, “You mean like a break?” 

George said: “Yeah!” 

Interviewer said: “Oh No, there are no breaks available.” 

Gabby asked: “Is that even legal?” 

Interviewer:  “Of course, yeah.” 

Esperanza asked: “Does it mean there will be no lunch?” 

Interviewer said:  “You can have your lunch, but it is only when your associate is done eating their lunch.” 

After that, there was a deep pause. 

Rodriguez broke the silence and said: “Men, I think that’s a little intense.” 

Sophia replied: “No, that’s crazy!” 

After that, one of the interviewer shocked the candidates even further by announcing: 

Interviewer: “Along with excellent negotiation and interpersonal skills, you must also have a degree and expertise in medicine, finance and culinary arts. You must be able to wear several hats. Your associate needs constant attention. Sometimes, you may have to stay with the associate all through the night. You must be able to work in a chaotic environment, if you had a life, we ask you to give it up. No vacation! In fact, during Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year, and other Holidays, the workload will go up and we demand that. And you must do all these with a happy disposition.” 

Mary said, “Ah, that’s almost cruel, that’s a very very sick twisted joke.” 

Francis then asked: “Uumh, what happens during the time to sleep?” 

Interviewer quickly replied, “Oh! No time to sleep. But if you must sleep, you must sleep like a dog, ready to get up as quickly as possible to attend to your associate.” 

Luke said: “That’s encompassing.”

Interviewer replied, “That’s exactly right.” 

Esperanza asked, (So one will do this) “for 365 days a year?” 

Interviewer: “Yeah.” 

Everyone was Shocked and baffled. 

Esperanza said again: “No, that’s inhumane.” 

Sophia said while scratching her neck: “That’s insane.” 

Interviewer said: “The meaningful connections you make, the feelings you get helping your associate are immeasurable.” 

Then another Interviewer announced:  “By the way, this position is going to pay absolutely nothing. There will be no pay for this job.”

Taken aback, one of the male candidates, Luke said:  “Excuse me..?” 

Mia (with grief and  shaking her head added): “No oh! No body is gonna do that for free, No oh! Absolutely no!”

Interviewer asked them: “What if I tell you that someone currently holds this position right now.” 

All candidates shouted: “Who?” 

Interviewer said: “There are billions of people, actually holding this position.” 

Alicia asked: “Who?” “Give me a name.” “You guys are not serious. Name one person who is doing this unrewarded job?”

The Interviewer said:  “Moms! Moms!”  They meet every requirements, don’t they?”

Then each of the candidates started saying: “That’s awesome.” “Mothers are the best. “Now, I am thinking about my mom.” Some of them started shedding tears.  

Mothers, thank you so much for everything you do. Some children may not appreciate you and your work, but remember that your job is the most important job in the world. Thank you mothers for everything you have done and for everything you are doing. We love you. You're awesome! You do the world’s toughest and yet the world’s most important job.