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Connections&
January 21, 2001-- Third Sunday of the Year
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord... "
"Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing." Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21
The pig in Cinderella? There is now!
The kindergarten class decided that for their class play they would put on the fairy tale Cinderella.
The teacher began sorting out the roles of Cinderella, the prince, the evil stepmother and step sisters, the fairy godmother, the coachmen and so on. When the teacher came to Norman, she asked who he'd like to play in the story. "Well," thought Norman, "I think I'd like to be the pig."
"But Norman," the teacher explained, "there is no pig in Cinderella."
And Norman said, "Well, there is now."
While no one knew exactly how the role of the pig would play out, it turns out that Norman knew exactly what his part was--and it turned out to be one of the great walk-on parts of all time. Norman's idea was that the pig was a kind of porcine Greek chorus who followed Cinderella around wherever she went and do whatever she did. Norman had no lines, but his face reflected the action of the drama. He served as a directional for the audience, pointing out the sadness, the tension, the surprise, the happiness of each scene. At the end of the play, when the princess was carried away to live happily ever after, Norman stood on his hind legs and applauded--and barked.
In rehearsal, this had been somewhat troublesome to the teacher, who said, "Norman, even if there is a pig in the story, pigs do not bark."
And Norman said, "Well, this one does."
As it turned out, Norman the pig in Cinderella was a big hit. He even got a standing ovation. Word got around and other kindergartens called the teacher. They had heard about the wonderful production of Cinderella. What was so special about it, they wanted to know.
The teacher would explain, "Oh, definitely, the barking pig."
But there's no barking pig in Cinderella, they would say.
But the teacher would say with great conviction, "Well, there is now!"
[From a story by Robert Fulghum.]
CONNECTION: In today's Gospel, Jesus appears on the "center stage" of history to begin his public ministry of teaching and healing. Like Norman's barking pig that brings new life to the tale of Cinderella, God brings, in the person of Jesus, new life and vision to the sad and often tragic story of humankind. Our hurting world asks, Is there reason to hope? Is there sense to this life? Is there a real possibility to remake our world in justice and peace? In the Messiah Jesus, God answers: There is now!.v
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