Good People

Rev. Terry Swicegood January 7, 2015

In staff meeting the other day we read Psalm 15 and then commented on it. Here’s how it opens:

1 Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent?

Who may live on your holy mountain?

2 The one whose walk is blameless,

who does what is righteous,

who speaks the truth from their heart;

3 whose tongue utters no slander,

who does no wrong to a neighbor,

and casts no slur on others;

The Psalmist is thinking of a good man or good woman here, one who is blameless, righteous, and is true through and through. I told our staff that as I read this Psalm I was thinking about all the good people I have known across the years. I told them this story:

When I served as pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Portland our Clerk of Session was Vittz James Ramsdell. Vittz was a good Clerk, a good church man, and good Christian. Vittz owned Roberts Motors Company, which sold and serviced Kenworth Trucks. Roberts Motors had well over 100 employees in those days. One of those employees was convicted of a crime and sentenced to four years in the Oregon State Prison. Three months before he was to be released, Vittz drove down to the prison and met with the man. He asked him if he would like to have his old job back. You can imagine the man’s surprise at this visit and this offer. On the day before the man was to return to work, Vittz called a meeting of all his employees. He said, ‘As you know, Jack has been in prison for the past four years. He is being released today and will return to work here tomorrow. He has paid his debt to society. I never expect this subject to come up again at Roberts Motors. You are all dismissed’.