Page 4 - Alumni Horae: Vol. 93, No. 3 Spring 2013

The Divinity in Us All
As I leave through
the front door of
the Rectory every
morning, the Chapel
of St. Peter and
St. Paul rises to
meet me. It is such
an imposing structure, almost unspeakably grand,
so historically and architecturally significant. In
many ways, from its sheer immensity to the most
hidden carving within its recesses, it resembles
on its own scale the kind of medieval cathedral
built to awe its congregation with the mystery
and magnificence of God.
For me, though, the awe the Chapel exerted
when I first arrived here as a Third Former was
soon replaced by the comfort it gave me, sitting
close with friends and teachers in the morning or
wandering in on an afternoon to be away from
everything else for a while but the quiet mystery
of that sacred space.
One of the great challenges we face as educators
in a school like this is to remind our students –
and ourselves as well – that the Chapel is a mon-
ument to God’s glory, not to our own. St. Paul’s
School is by any measure, and in any sense, a
place of privilege. All of us are privileged to live
and work on these grounds, but humility is the
proper – and logical, really – response in this
incredible context of advantage and opportunity.
Humility is among the themes that Christianity
shares with most other faiths. When Jesus
washed the feet of the most unloved, it was
a profound example of his recognizing the
divinity in all others, and of the reverence we
should give one another, no matter our status,
or lack of it, in wealth, position, appearance,
or – important to remember here – intellectual
acumen.
We are not hardwired for complete interde-
pendence – we are not like ants, insignificant
as individuals. But to live meaningfully is to
recognize our role as subordinate to commu-
nity. When we speak of servant leadership, we
understand that our capacity to contribute may
be prodigious, but only if we are contributing to
others, in whatever role we occupy in society.
The next time you visit St. Paul’s, stroll slowly
through the serenity of the Chapel. Consider
the imagination and hands and handiwork that
created it, the countless laborers, stonecutters,
masons, glaziers, craftsmen, and artists. All but
a few are nameless now, just as the least and
the greatest of us will someday be, equal as we
are in the light of the Chapel windows.
Michael G. Hirschfeld ’85
RECTOR
PETER FINGER
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