My wife just recently purchased several scholastic books for our son Jake. She explained to me that she wants this to become our little tradition, for me to read to Jake every night. Being the good guy that I am, I decided that it is worth a go. One of the books she purchased was Stone Soup, by Jon J. Muth. The crazy thing is I actually remember the book from when I was young. As I put Jake in my lap and read the book to him, I could not help but feel the tug of God's spirit.Let me give the summary that is on the back of the book:
"Three monks, Hok, Lok, and Siew, journey along a mountain road trying to understand what makes one happy. At once the monks encounter frightened villagers who lock their windows and darken their homes. The villagers have long been ravaged by harsh times, and their hearts have grown hard toward everyone they meet. But when the monks cleverly entice them to make soup from stones, the villagers discover how much they each have to give--and how much more comes back in return."
To put the story into my words, these monks use a unique proposition to move the village into a community built on relationships. The proposition: to make soup from stones. The stones were not the only ingredients after it was all said in done.
It all begin with the cold welcome to the monks from the village. After trying time after time to even interact with anyone at the village, they decide its time for the stone soup. They find a girl and asked her to provide the soup with a certain ingredient. Another person added their ingredient, then another and another. After a while, all were pitching in to help with the making of the soup. After the soup was done they had a celebration. They ate the soup and told stories and sang songs in celebration. The monks had a place to stay and the village was transformed in community.
I must admit, I was just going to read the story to Jake with no expectation that God would be in the mix. I put Jake to bed with the understanding that it seems that humanity is in a dire need of stone soup.
We live in such individualistic ways in the western culture. It can be a cold world, where at first glance it may seem everyone is out for number one. But,
I believe in the audacity of the message of Jesus.
I believe that the kingdom that was at hand is still the kingdom at hand.
I believe in the invitation to join in God's work to bring about His world.
I believe in the Stone Soup of Jesus and and the community that it offers
I believe that we can still be the community that Acts 2 offered for the 1st century followers.
Just as the monks used a crazy proposition to transform the village into a community, I believe that Jesus offers a way of life that will transform this world. May we find ways to participate in this dream of God in bringing about a community based on relationships and love.
-dj
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