Passion/Palm Sunday
Stories
Lectionary Tales for the Pulpit
Series II, Cycle C
Several years ago I had the occasion to meet A.C. Lyles. A.C. is a movie producer in Hollywood who was involved in such movies as The Hunt for Red October. He is also a great storyteller and the stories are usually true. A.C. is a very close friend to former President Ronald Reagan and can talk for hours about events in the White House that you never read about in the newspaper.
Among the many stories that I have heard him tell is the one about the waning days of the Reagan White House. A.C. was with President Reagan in the Oval Office having a friendly conversation. A.C. noticed that his friend the President was working on something and asked him what he was doing. The President told him that he was filling out the paperwork that would be needed for him to obtain a California driver's license when he returned home. A.C. couldn't believe what he was hearing or seeing. He asked the President why he thought that he needed a driver's license when he had not driven a car in years and when he would still be driven by the Secret Service when he did return home. President Reagan looked at his friend A.C. and said, "Well, I thought I might need it for identification."
Imagine being a two-term president and one of the most recognizable people in the world and still believing that you are just like anyone else. Paul encourages us to have the same mind as Christ, who saw himself as a servant.
Among the many stories that I have heard him tell is the one about the waning days of the Reagan White House. A.C. was with President Reagan in the Oval Office having a friendly conversation. A.C. noticed that his friend the President was working on something and asked him what he was doing. The President told him that he was filling out the paperwork that would be needed for him to obtain a California driver's license when he returned home. A.C. couldn't believe what he was hearing or seeing. He asked the President why he thought that he needed a driver's license when he had not driven a car in years and when he would still be driven by the Secret Service when he did return home. President Reagan looked at his friend A.C. and said, "Well, I thought I might need it for identification."
Imagine being a two-term president and one of the most recognizable people in the world and still believing that you are just like anyone else. Paul encourages us to have the same mind as Christ, who saw himself as a servant.
