Friday, December 13, 2002
"Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house." Mark 6: 4

What could the rejection of the son have to do with light in the darkness, during this season of preparation and expectancy? For me, school has most often been an advent season, full of preparation and expectancy. In the middle of first grade, my family moved to Kenosha, Wisconsin from Wichita, Kansas. I felt like Dorothy Gale in the Land of Oz but with no promise of meeting the Great Wizard. My clothes were all wrong, I talked funny, I was too young to be in first grade, and my biggest, sin, if it was not my mere presence in the overcrowded classroom, it was that I wrote with my left hand! I made my "Os" contrary to the directional arrows on the Zaner-Bloser penmanship chart. One day, reaching my saturation point with that teacher, I sunk my deciduous, little teeth into her large, gnarled, veiny hand. I regretted it immediately. That moment cast a long shadow of shame over my childhood. The shame diminished as I grew older, and found teachers who helped me discover the world beyond the penmanship chart. (Although it is good that this document is in Microsoft Word rather than in my own hand.)

I had not thought of it in years until the mother of one of my childhood schoolmates reported the incident to one of my seminary professors during a serendipitous meeting at the opera last winter. Instantly, I was again in shame's shadow. The dear professor smiled at my classmate's mother and returned to her commentary on the first act. The shadowy story had no power.

Kate Jones


All contents copyright 2002 by the Wisconsin Chapter of the Methodist Federation for Social Action. Permission is granted to United Methodist congregations, individuals and groups to reproduce and distribute this devotional without charge. All other use requires the advance permission of the editor.