Clergy from left, The Rev. Mary Ann Hill, Rector, Trinity on the Hill, Pastor Nicolé Ferry, Deacon Cynthia Biddlecomb, retired; Associate Priest Lynn Finnegan and Pastor Deb Church. Photo by Nate Limback/ladailypost.com
By The Rev. Mary Ann Hill
Rector
Trinity on the Hill Episcopal Church
Every year at this time, I am reminded of the first patient I met during my internship as a hospital chaplain twenty-five years ago. On my first day, I was handed a list of room numbers and told to “go visit people”. Typically, a visit should take about 10 minutes, but I only saw one patient my first morning.
That first visit was with a man in his 80s. I asked him if he’d served in WWII. He answered “yes” and eventually he told me that he was sent to Omaha Beach on June 7, the day after D-Day. When I looked at him quizzically, he simply clarified “My job was to pull the bodies out of the water.”
This was a year after Saving Private Ryan came out, and I asked him what he thought of the movie. He saw it with his grandson, and for the first time, he felt like telling someone about his experience. But he didn’t tell the whole story – it felt like too much of a burden to place on the family. So I asked if he would like to tell me. And two hours later, after both of us had done a lot of crying, he gave me a hug and thanked me for letting him lay that down.
I will always remember that veteran’s story. Whenever I see photos of military cemeteries in Normandy, I think of all the young men who had proper burials because of his efforts, and of all the families whose lives were forever changed, but who at least knew what had happened to their loved ones.
One of the things that struck me during that visit, was that this man was one of hundreds of thousands who saved the world and then quietly went home and got on with their “normal lives.” That is an example of true humility.
Humility is a virtue that we don’t talk about much. Maybe that’s because people confuse humility with humiliation. They are etymologically related, but they aren’t the same thing. Humility means being free of pride or arrogance, and it’s one of those traits that, if you claim to have it, you probably don’t. Being humble isn’t about being self-deprecating or being walked all over. It’s about having the dignity of understanding who we are, and who we belong to. It’s about having quiet confidence in our abilities but appreciating the contributions of others, and not being threatened by those who are more capable. For Christians, humility is considered a virtue. Our confidence is in Christ. We don’t belong to ourselves, we belong to God, and the gifts and talents we have are gifts from God.
I am fairly certain that the veteran I visited that day didn’t do a lot of bragging about his service. But I hope that he appreciated the contributions he made. He and so many like him, changed our world for the better, with grace, courage, and true humility.
Editor’s note: ‘All Shall Be Well’ is a column written by local women clergy including ELCA Deacon Cynthia Biddlecomb, M.Div., retired (czoebidd@gmail.com); Pastor Nicolé Ferry, Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church (pastornicole@bethluth.com); Associate Priest Lynn Finnegan, The Episcopal Church of the Holy Faith, Santa Fe (rev.lynn@holyfaithchurchsf.org); Pastor Deb Church, White Rock Presbyterian Church (pastor@wrpchurch.com) and The Rev. Mary Ann Hill, Rector, Trinity on the Hill Episcopal Church (momaryannhill@gmail.com).
