Heaven, Hell...and Getting Our Lunch

One day a man said to God, “God, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.”

God showed the man two doors. Inside the first one, in the middle of the room, was a large round table with a large pot of stew. It smelled delicious and made the man’s mouth water, but the people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful, but because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.

The man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering. God said, “You have seen Hell.”

Behind the second door, the room appeared exactly the same. There was the large round table with the large pot of wonderful stew that made the man’s mouth water. The people had the same long-handled spoons, but they were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.

The man said, “I don’t understand.”

God smiled. It is simple, he said, Love only requires one skill. These people learned early on to share and feed one another. While the greedy only think of themselves… [Author unknown]

Is This the Work of Your Kingdom?

Once upon a time there was a beggar who came with her begging bowl to a great king and asked for alms, for food, for anything that he would give. The king gestured to one of his advisers, and the beggar’s bowl was filled with grain. But to the adviser’s dismay, no matter how much he put in the bowl, it was still empty, as though it was bottomless. The king repeated his order, and the man sought to fill the bowl again and again and again. Finally, in desperation, the man cried to the king that the bowl seemed to eat everything that it was given.

The king looked at the beggar with different eyes, seeking to understand. The woman stood there with her empty bowl and patiently held it out for the offering. They both stood looking at each other, and the king finally asked: “Who are you and why have you visited my kingdom?” The beggar looked at the king and held out her begging bowl. She answered: “This bowl is the bowl of human wants and needs. It is impossible to fill, but it is the work of all those who believe in Allah, the most Compassionate One, to try. Is this the work of your kingdom?” And the beggar left the bowl on the floor in the middle of the great hall of the king. And she left.

[from Leave Her Alone by Megan McKenna. Orbis Books: Maryknoll, NY, 2000; p.95]

Parable of the Blacksmith

Once upon a time there was a blacksmith who worked hard at his trade. The day came for him to die. The angel was sent to him, and much to the angel's surprise he refused to go. He pleaded with the angel to make his case before God, that he was the only blacksmith in the area and it was time for all his neighbors to begin their planting and sowing. He was needed. So the angel pleaded his case before God. he said that the man didn't want to appear ungrateful, and that he was glad to have a place in the kingdom, but could he put off going for a while? And he was left.

About a year or two later the angel came back again with the same message: the Lord was ready to share the fullness of the kingdom with him. Again the man had reservations and said: "A neighbor of mine is seriously ill, and it's time for the harvest. A number of us are trying to save his crops so that his family won't become destitute. Please come back later." And off the angel went again.

Well, it got to be a pattern. Every time the angel came, the blacksmith had one excuse or another. The blacksmith would just shake his head and tell the angel where he was needed and decline. Finally, the blacksmith grew very old, weary and tired. He decided it was time, and so he prayed: "God, if you'd like to send your angel again, I'd be glad to come home now." Immediately the angel appeared, as if from around the corner of the bed. The blacksmith said: "If you still want to take me home, I'm ready to live forever in the kingdom of heaven." And the angel laughed and looked at the blacksmith in delight and surprise and said: "Where do you think you've been all these years?" He was home.

(As told by Megan McKenna in her book, Parables: the Arrows of God.)