April 9, 2010
Be what we are
By Chaplain Donald Moss

There is an old story about a stonemason who wasn’t happy about what he was.

He didn’t like the hard work and the long hours. He didn’t like the stone dust and the ringing sound in his ears. He dreamed of the day he could be a rich man and not have to do the same old, hot and dirty work.

“I wish I were a rich man,” he said to himself. Immediately a voice came to him and said, “You are what you say.” He was, instantaneously, a rich man living in a wonderfully rich house. He loved the rich food and beautiful surroundings.

As time passed, however, he began to be bored. Being rich, there wasn’t much to do. One day, he heard the sound of trumpets and drums. He went to the window to see what all the commotion was about. What he saw was a king passing by.

The man immediately wanted to be a king because kings are rich and have something to do. He said, “I wish I were a king.” Again a voice came to him and said, “You are what you say.” Instantaneously, he was a king.

He loved being a king. Everyone treated him with great respect and his every wish was obeyed. As time passed, however, the constant need to attend to business was getting to be too much for him. He was getting tired of being pestered all the time.

One day, he noticed beautiful clouds drifting by. He noticed how peaceful the clouds were and wanted to be a cloud. So, a voice again came to him and said,

“You are what you say.” Immediately, he became a cloud drifting along without a trouble in the world. Before long however, the temperature began to change and the cloud began to condense into rain. Our man began turning into rain falling to the earth.

He began to splash against a beautiful boulder of marble. As he splashed against the marble, he began to wish he was a stone. The stone was so solid, so permanent, unlike a cloud. So, he began to wish he were a stone. Immediately, a voice came and said, “You are what you say.”

He was turned into a beautiful boulder of marble.

He was happy for a long time. One day, however, a man came to look at him. The man had a hammer and a chisel. The man began to chip away at him. So, he began thinking he would like to be like the man. Being a stone was not so permanent after all. A man could break him up into a hundred pieces.

So, he decided he wanted to be like the man. Immediately, Once again, a voice came and said, “You are what you say.” And so, he once again became a stonemason.

This time, however, he was happy. He was happy because he became what he was supposed to be all along, himself.

We all should be grateful for whom and what we are. Our faith teaches us that we are special to God. We are all equally special, as we are. We are all infinitely valuable and precious to God, as we are.