Re-inventing Mother

Palm Sunday

March 29, 2020

The Gospel of John 11: 1-45

I share with you a story retold by Megan McKenna:

             “Once upon a time a master violin maker wanted to choose a disciple to take his place.  He had painstakingly shown each of his students every aspect of making a violin, from choosing the wood and aging it for many years, to hand carving and shaping the pieces, to the final varnishing. One young woman was superb in nearly every aspect of the craft. The only skill she lacked, though, was probably the most important – she couldn’t seem to be able to determine which tree held the best wood for the violin. 

            Again and again he had taken her out to look at the trees.  He took her during the spring thaws and strong winds, the hot summers, and especially at the shift of seasons from autumn when the leaves dropped to the harshness of winter. And they had hard winters: brutal cold with long periods when ice collected on the trees, breaking limbs; furious winds and blowing snow.  Standing in the barren forests he would ask her,” Which trees hold the wood of the violin?” Invariably she would pick ones that didn’t look like they were taking a beating, trees protected by others from the worst of the weather; or she would choose trees for their graceful appearance even during the storms.  But he knew that the wood of the trees she chose would not  produce violins of superb quality. She had surely learned all the other skills, but he began to despair of teaching her how to make the first and most crucial choice.  So he took her out to the same forest one more time and in a gale they stood facing the trees.  And he asked her to talk to the trees.  She felt sorry for the battered ones, those taking the initial force, ones that formed a weather break for the trees behind. As she spoke of her sorrow at how they cracked and bent and even split in the blizzard, he realized why she was making her choices. “ Look at them,” he commanded.  “Listen to the limbs in the wind.  Close you eyes and know that these are the ones being ‘tuned’!”  In that moment she knew and understood and opened her eyes to see those standing in the forefront, those that stood and faced the elements were already “making music”, having absorbed all of the stresses of the elements. From their wood she could make instruments capable of making magnificent sound.”

The cross makes a magnificent sound.  It sings salvation.