REFLECTION: FRANK SENT THIS

In the middle of December I was thinking about what I could use as a Reflection posting. Suddenly I remembered a story we heard on an Internet site about watching a group of small school children who dramatized for their parents the visit of the Wise Men to Bethlehem. Anita remembered the story too and she also remembered the punch line of the story that made us laugh.

So she went to the computer and typed in the words of the punch line: “Frank sent this.” She found several sites referring to the quote, but one site provided all the information we needed -- the name of the author—Sir Ken Robinson— the words of the children depicting the Wise Men followed by a short reflection:

‘I am the King of the North,’ said one little boy, kneeling before the manger and laying down a brightly wrapped box. ‘I bring you gold.’

‘ I am the King of the South,’ said the second, kneeling before the manger and laying down a large colored jar. ‘I bring you myrrh.’

‘ I am the King of the East,’ said the third and smallest child, kneeling before the manger and laying down a silver bowl. ‘And Frank sent this.’

You can laugh at the story as Anita and I did but I would like you to reflect on the lesson that we can learn from these words that followed the story on the above Internet site. I am not sure whether Robinson wrote them or someone else but they are worth pondering by Christians and those who profess a different faith because tensions today between Christians and Muslims, and between Jews and Palestinians at times are high. This little reflection might help ease those tensions:

“ You see, the Christ child wasn’t surrounded by Jewish dignitaries. Not even kept in the confines of a strictly Jewish community. Nor did his family or God prevent from being exposed to, or from influencing, Gentile culture - even as a young child.

“ No. Right in the early years of Jesus’ life, he was open to non-Jews. Outsiders. Astrologers coming to see Jesus . . . . . And they brought gifts.

“ Surely it’s not a picture that Christians can ignore. Exclusivity doesn’t seem to be an option. If God didn’t allow his son to be closeted away and protected, then God hardly expects his people to be any different?

“ So as we journey towards Christmas and then move on to celebrating Epiphany (or Little Christmas), shouldn’t we generously accept everyone, trusting that like the Wise Men they will receive something of the wonder of Jesus as they visit, and not forgetting that we may benefit from their gifts and culture too?”

Source: http://themockingbirdsleap.wordpress.com/2007/11/29/and-frank-sent-this-listening/

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