DO YOU HEAR THE BELL RING?
The movie “The Polar Express” is an animated film about a bunch of children that are picked up by a magical train and taken to the North Pole to meet Santa Claus. If you have children, grandchildren or just like Christmas movies you must have seen it, just like I have, way to many times. Anyway, the one young boy, who is not quite sure why he was invited onto the train, is having a hard time believing in Santa and this worries him. He hears his parents talking about Santa Claus, all his friends believe and his little sister is ready to burst with excitement. He wants to believe, he really does, but he has never seen him, never touched his coat, oh sure the milk and cookies and the carrots for the reindeer are always gone, there are lots of presents under the tree but it’s hard to believe. After an exciting trip, they finally reach the North Pole. Of course, in movie land nothing goes smoothly and after getting lost in Santa’s factory and getting stuck in Santa’s sack of presents our group of heroes makes it back to the plaza where Santa will mount his sleigh. As the elves are finishing putting the tack on the reindeer, they bring out these long leather leads with bells every couple of inches. The bells should be ringing but he doesn’t hear them. He knows there is nothing wrong with his hearing, he can hear everyone cheering but not the bells ringing. Then all of a sudden Santa appears in a doorway some distance away but with the bright lights, all the elves dancing around and all the other children he still can’t quite see him. Then all of a sudden a bell comes loose and is bouncing towards him, he still doesn’t hear it but he picks it up. He holds it to his ear and says I believe, I believe, he shakes it and he hears the ring. Just at that moment Santa Claus is standing right in front of him, he can see him, talk to him and touch his coat.
Don’t you wish our faith was that easy? Just say I believe and ring a bell and everything is all well and good. To have faith in God is hard work, you cannot just say the words you have to really believe in what you are saying. No one has ever seen God, we can see his good works but we can’t touch his coat, we can’t sit at the same table and talk to him but we want to believe. The bad things happening in the world and hardships in our own lives make it hard but we still hear the bell.
A few years ago I read a book about a father who was on a camping trip with his wife, young son and daughter. They were in a family campground where he thought his son and daughter were safe. While the daughter was playing away from the family she was kidnapped. There was a massive search that ended at an old cabin. Unfortunately, the girl was never found. The father became very bitter and angry, he was angry at himself, the person that did this and most of all God for letting this happen. He prayed and prayed for an answer, for a reason to keep believing but he was so angry he couldn’t hear. He decided to go back to the cabin alone to try to find some answers and hopefully the person that did this. The cabin was deep in a wooded area and as he approached he saw a dim light coming from inside. He decided to wait to see if he would see movement, but all of sudden he was surrounded by small lights darting about, pushing him to the cabin door.
As he reached the door, a large woman with dark skin opened the door, she smiled and welcomed him in. The room was nothing like what he had seen before, it was rustic but warm and the smell of dinner was coming from the kitchen. She told him to sit at the table as she went back to her work of making biscuits. After a while she said, what do you seek? I want to see my daughter again, he said. The women said, you will in time. Just then the door opened and a young man entered. He was tall, with a workman’s build and a light beard. Then without warning a young women appeared, she was beautiful and seemed to float around the kitchen helping with dinner. As the story goes on the man comes to realize that he was in the presence of the Holy Trinity. They talked, laughed and prayed together and the man learned to forgive and believe again. He did see his daughter, not as a person but in spirit and she was happy.
Wouldn’t it nice to be able to do this. To sit down to a meal with God, The Son and the Holy Spirit. To walk with them, talk with them and just reach out and touch their cloths, to know they are real. I think when we believe in God, the Son and the Holy Spirit that they are with us every day. Their presence can be felt surrounding us, their goodness can be seen in the good works that we do and the love we show to one another. We do not have to see them, touch them or hear their voices to know they are real, we just need to believe.
DO YOU HEAR THE BELL RING?