Spirit’s Still Found In Unlikely Settings

He wasn’t born in a blue suit. He never made CEO. Why would millions worship him? The Christmas story announces a creator with values foreign to ours. God? In a stable? Destined for a cross? Even theologians tremble at the thought.

Yet there is something universal, something like hunger, in the response of every generation to acts of transcendent charity. Consider:

Out at a greasy engine rebuilding shop in north Spokane the other day, there was a joyful scene that contradicted the canons of corporate America. The owners of Motor Works, 1030 N. Haven, gave away 30 percent of their annual profits to the employees. Many of the bonus checks came to $8,000.

Buzz Rodseth and Mike Ulrick, the owners, have found that generous profit-sharing supercharges both the workers and the business. One look at those proud, backslapping machinists on payoff day might convince Wall Street, had it been paying attention, to reconsider the ethic that holds bonuses are for managers who minimize labor costs. After Motor Works’ story appeared on our front page, people showered the shop with expressions of respect - and requests for a job.

At age 8, Oseola McCarty dropped out of school to begin her life’s work - laundering clothes at her house in Hattiesburg, Miss. Today, 80 years later, she has become poorer, as banks measure poverty. Yet McCarty’s honorary doctorate from Harvard hints at a different kind of wealth. A year ago she gave away her life savings, $150,000, to finance scholarships at the nearby University of Southern Mississippi. When officials went to thank their benefactor they found a shy old washerwoman, bent with arthritis.

Since then she has carried the Olympic torch. Met Bill and Hillary Clinton. Made headlines in Glamour, Ebony, Guideposts and The New York Times. Appeared on Good Morning America. Flown around the country to accept more awards than she can remember. But she goes home to the same house, lives the same simple life. She did buy a color TV but doesn’t watch it. And she got a new binding for her raggedy Bible so the pages wouldn’t get out of order. The rich and famous who now stream to her door say that “when you’re around her, you just feel better. You feel cleaner.” Around her, they say, what you feel is “peace.”

What a wonder. Twenty centuries later, people kneel and sing about a manger scene. And re-enact the story best, in machine shops and washerwoman’s homes.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = John Webster/For the editorial board