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From
the Easter Morning Service, 2000
by
Dawn Star Borchelt, Director of Religious Education
[note: I have since learned that the story I told can be found in one
version as "A Farmer's Horse Ran Off," based on a tale by Lui
An in the book "Wisdom Tales from Around the World" by Heather
Forest.]
The words we just
read together are from the Bible, and they tell a small part of the story
of the life of a man named Jesus. It’s the part of the story about
the day Jesus died. You may know - but you may not know - that the day
Jesus died is also called Good Friday. I’ve always wondered a lot
about why we would call the day a great teacher and person died a good
day.
So I have a story this morning that helps me understand why we might feel
like this horrible part of the story about Jesus could be good.
I could tell this story by myself. However, another important thing about
the stories about Jesus is that he had a lot of helpers, a lot of friends
who liked to go around with him and help him do his work. I’ve been
working hard all week, and I think I would rather tell my story together
with some of you to help me. Who would like to come up here and help me?
Now, there are three parts of my story I’m going to need some help
with. One part is about horses. Every time you hear me say the word “horse”,
I want you to go like this, and I want everybody in the congregation to
do it with you. Let’s practice.
The next part is about somebody breaking his leg. Has anybody here ever
broken a leg or an arm or anything? Did it make a sound? I’ve never
broken a leg. Did it maybe make a sound like this? And then later after
it was set and healing, did you ever make a sound like this? Let’s
practice. Every time I say “broke his leg” I want you to do
those two sounds and everybody in the congregation do it with you.
The third part is about a war. Now, at least from what I know, a long
time ago when there was a war, there would always be someone who rode
out at the front of the army and blew on a horn to tell the soldiers to
keep marching. I think maybe a horn sounded something like this. Can you
do that? Let’s practice. And every time you hear me say “war”
I want you to do that, and get everybody to do it with you!
Okay! This is a story that a friend of mine told me.
Once upon a time, there was a farmer in a small country whose horse
ran away. His neighbors, when they heard, came to his farm and said "Oh
it is terrible that your horse ran away!" The farmer replied,
"I do not know if it is good or bad, I just know that my horse
ran away."
Later, the farmer's horse returned and brought 2 wild horses.
His neighbors, when they heard, came to his farm and said "I guess
you were right, it was a good thing that your horse ran away!"
The farmer replied, "I do not know if it is good or bad, I just know
that I have 2 horses to tame."
Later, the farmer's son was bucked off one of the wild horses and broke
his leg. His neighbors, when they heard, came to his farm and said
"I guess you were right, it was not a good thing that your horse
ran away! Your son's leg would not be broken if the horse had stayed
home."
The farmer replied, "I do not know if it is good or bad, I just know
that my son has a broken leg."
Soon the farmer's country was involved in a border war with a neighboring
country and all young men were called up to fight in the war. The
farmer's neighbors said "I guess you were right, it was a good thing
that your horse ran away! Your son's leg would not be broken
if the horse had stayed home and he would be off fighting in the war"
The farmer replied, "I do not know if it is good or bad, I just know
that my son does not have to fight in the war."
The next reading we’ll share is about something that happened after
Jesus died. Some of his friends wanted to say goodbye to him, so they
went to where his body had been taken to see it and prepare it for burial.
But the body just wasn’t there anymore! That was a great mystery,
and it still is.
What we can learn from the story about the man and his horse and his son
is that sometimes, it is okay for us not to know whether something is
good or bad or what one day’s consequences will be. Sometimes it
is okay for something to be a mystery. If we are willing to see what has
happened in front of our eyes and inside ourselves and accept that experience
as real, we will be ready for whatever strange and perhaps miraculous
thing happens next.
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