Simon Says, 'labor For The Truth, And For Future Generations'
As I age, I find that “upgrades” tend to cause me to wax a bit nostalgic. My new phone, for example, has prompted me to think about the first “smartphone” I ever used. In fact, if you used the same phone, then it was your first smartphone as well because it was the first ever produced (it even pre-existed the word “smartphone”). I got mine in 1994, way back in the old days, you know, when car radio signals didn’t bounce off satellites; GPS couldn’t tell you how to get to a new restaurant; and “chat rooms” were the coolest way to interact on the “World Wide Web.” Ancient times (yes, I do mean that very tongue-in-cheek).
Anyway, the device was developed by IBM, and only 50,000 of them were ever sold. The price tag was a whopping $899 with a two-year contract or $1,099 without. Now, before you think I’m bragging about having used one, I should make clear that I did not buy mine: I was working in business development for Bell South Cellular, and I was selling this product to business clients. What was it like? Hmmm, well, imagine a brick with an old monochrome screen on one side. That pretty well describes the “Simon.” And, being candid, it performed only slightly worse than an actual brick. The thing was terrible, mostly due to its pressure-sensitive screen (rather than the multi-touch technology new “smartphones” utilize). I suppose that’s why we only sold it for six months, but, for all its faults, Simon was truly a product ahead of its time—it paved the way for Palm Pilot, Blackberry, and iPhone. And you’ve probably never heard of it…unless you’re one of the other 49,999 people who used one of these “smartbricks.”
I’d be willing to bet that IBM’s cellular research division and Bell South (if either still existed) would look back on the Simon as a colossal failure, but that seems unfair given the ubiquitous nature of smartphones today (ironically, you may even be reading this on your smartphone or tablet via The Message on-line edition). Simon needed a few small tweaks for which the technology had yet to exist in 1994, but the attractiveness of the type of product it represented was real, and we see the proof of that all around us.
Simon serves as a touchstone for me. It makes me realize that not all of the good ideas with which we are inspired are meant to come to fruition today; some may be for another time. Yes, something might be worth doing, but that which empowers it to happen may be left for a future generation. I wonder what our brothers and sisters from the first centuries of Christianity would think about our 69 parishes, our Newman Centers, TEC and Source & Summit retreats, or the Pilgrimage for Life? Could they envision our Catholic Scouts who serve others fearlessly, or the passion of the young adults in Communion in Liberation who gather regularly in an on-going attempt to live their lives for Jesus Christ? Those early generations often lived a cloaked existence hoping for the opportunity to share the Gospel, and today we walk down streets openly encouraging others to follow our example. Yet those ancient siblings of ours were the ones who planted the seeds that allow us to publicly live as followers of Jesus Christ. Jesus, the Cornerstone, our brothers and sisters the builders, and we are the generation meant to fill the Kingdom they built. Theirs was a work not meant to be completed in their lifetimes; their labor was done for us; our labor, for others yet to come.
With Christmas upon us, it is a good time to remember the nature of our work, and to encourage perseverance among those to whom God calls us to minister. Ours is a labor for the Truth; the message we hear is meant to yield fruit for future generations. Let’s not grow weary in the here-and-now: A child is born to us, and His name is Emmanuel. He is with us always, and He will bring what we do in His service to fruition…in whichever generation can receive it.
