PASTORAL REFLECTIONS - June 2008


What does it mean to have no one? Visiting among those who are without partners, family or even friends to visit them, I often ponder the mystery of “belonging.” There are many who prefer to be alone, because the pain they bear - be it guilt, anger or fear –pushes them to the edges of their lives and they can welcome no one. There are, of course, many who relish community and belonging and getting to know others.

Fred Craddock, a great preacher and teacher of preachers, once told of a little one-room schoolhouse, out in the country. Most of the children, being children, took advantage of every opportunity to skip school or come late or leave early –except one little girl. She always came early to help the teacher set up the room, and stayed after school to clean the erasers. During the day, she gave the teacher her undivided attention.

One day, when the class was being especially unruly, the teacher pointed to the little girl in the front row, and asked, “Why can’t you be more like her? She comes early to help, she stays late to help and all day long she is attentive and courteous.”

“It isn’t fair to ask us to be like her,” said one little boy from the rear of the room.
“Why?”
“Because she has an advantage,” he replied.
“I don’t understand. What is her advantage?” asked the puzzled teacher.
“She’s an orphan,” he almost whispered as he sat down.
 

From Fred Craddock, Craddock Stories, St. Louis, Chalice Press, 2001, p. 16

Jesus taught much that imprinted history, culture and daily life – but I will always cherish one thing above all: opening my path to God without condition or human barriers or even the restrictions of religion. We are not “orphans” when it comes to the reach of Divine Love. Life challenges us sometimes beyond belief, but the Easter Christ promises life where there is none, love where it is absent, a community when one has been removed from us, and a relationship even when we have been orphaned. The little girl in Craddock’s story did have an advantage: she knew who she really was.

Pastor Ron