|
Love
and Creamsicles
Fr.
George Smiga
April
9/10, 2005
Luke
24:13-35
Whenever
I hear the beautiful story of the two disciples meeting Jesus
on the road to Emmaus, I think of a story that happened to
me when I was the same age as many of you here today, who
are making your Confirmation and First Communion. It is a
story about fireworks. When I was growing up, our family loved
fireworks. Therefore the Fourth of July was a very special
day for us. I remember that when I was in the second grade,
my dad announced that we were going to see fireworks at Edgewater
Park . Now Edgewater Park had the biggest and the best fireworks
of any place in Cleveland , so we were all excited. My dad
said that we were going to pack a picnic dinner, but we would
have to be careful because it would be very crowded at Edgewater
Park .
It
was! When we got to the park, there were thousands of people
on the beach waiting for the fireworks to begin. We carried
our blankets and our cooler with the food inside onto the
beach. My dad saw an empty place ahead of us and he said:
“There's where we're going, come along.” So we started moving
towards the place. But I noticed that there was a man there
with a cart who was selling creamsicles. Now I don't know
about you, but I love creamsicles. I love the orange ones,
I love the cherry ones. But this man was selling blue
creamsicles and I had never seen those before. I wanted
one!
“Dad,”
I said, “can I have a creamsicle?”
“George,”
he said, “you don't need a creamsicle, we've got plenty of
food here in the cooler.”
“But
it's a blue creamsicle,” I said, “and I brought
some of my own allowance money so I can pay for it myself.
Can I please have a creamsicle?”
“George,”
my dad said, “we're need to get to that empty place on the
beach before someone else does, so no. Definitely not!”
So
what could I do? I went along. We unrolled our blanket, we
took out some food and we began to eat. As we were eating,
I was looking around in the crowd and I saw that my friend
Tommy Wagner was sitting with his family a little up the beach.
“Dad,”
I said, “the Wagners are here.”
My
dad yelled out and waved and Mr. Wagner waved back.
“Dad,
can I please go and watch the fireworks with Tommy Wagner
and his family?”
“George,”
my dad said, “the Wagners don't want you there, stay right
here. There are too many people here. It is too easy for you
to get lost.”
“Please
Dad,” I said, “Tommy Wagner is one of my best friends and
I'll have such a good time if I can watch the fireworks with
him.”
I
was wearing my dad down.
“OK,”
he said, “but you go right over there and as soon as the fireworks
are done, you come right back here. Understood? Promise?”
“Yes,
sure dad, I promise.”
So
I started going through the crowd over to the Wagners and
then . . . I had an idea! I thought instead of going straight
to the Wagners, what if I just went a little bit out of my
way back to that creamsicle man? I knew he was not too far
down the beach. Of course doing that would be disobeying my
dad, but I really wanted to taste a blue creamsicle. I made
sure I knew where we were sitting: next to a life guard station
with a big red sign on it. That way I could find my way back.
So I started down the beach through the crowd, looking for
the creamsicle man. When I came to the place where we had
seen him, he was not there. He must have moved on down the
beach so I went a bit further, and then a little bit further
and a little bit further and then the fireworks started. “Oh,
boy,” I said, “I better get back to my family.” So I looked
for the lifeguard station and went to it. But when I got there,
it wasn't the right life guard station. It didn't have a red
sign on it. Then I looked around and I saw that there were
a whole row of lifeguard stations all up and down the beach.
It was then that I realized that I was lost. I began to wonder
whether I would ever find my family again? Would they leave
and go back home without me? What could I do?
I
decided to pray.
“Jesus,”
I said, “ I know it wasn't the smartest idea to go after that
creamsicle, but I really need your help. I can't find my family
and if you could just lead me back, I promise I will never
disobey my mother or father again. I will never tell a lie
again. Amen.” Then because I was desperate, I began to cry.
After
a few moments I heard a voice, “Is there a problem here, young
man?”
And
I looked up to see a police officer.
“Yes,
there's a problem,” I said, “I'm lost. I can't find my family
and I'm afraid they're going to go home without me.”
The
policeman said, “Do you have any idea where they are?”
“Yes,”
I said, “they're next to a big lifeguard station with a red
sign on it.”
The
policeman smiled and he put out his hand.
“Come
with me,” he said, “I know right where that is.”
So
we walked together for a very long time. Finally I saw my
family sitting on our blanket and watching the fireworks.
They were just coming to an end. I thanked the policeman and
I ran towards my family. My dad saw me coming.
“Wow,”
he said, “George, you're back just right on time just as you
promised. Good work. How were the Wagners?”
Then
I realized that my dad didn't even know anything had happened.
He thought I was with the Wagners the whole time. This was
good, I thought. All I would have to do was say, “oh they're
fine” and I could get out of this mess without any problem.
But then I remembered the prayer that I made and the promise
to tell the truth.
“Dad,”
I said, “I didn't go to the Wagners. I went to buy a creamsicle
and I got lost and a policeman found me—that policeman (I
pointed, the policeman waved, my father waved back). I never
thought I would see you again.” Then I ran to my father and
I hugged him.
Now
my dad was just beginning to realize what had happened. It
took him a few minutes to catch up on what I was telling him.
Finally he spoke. “Now let me get this straight. You disobeyed
me and did not go straight to the Wagners, right?”
“Yes,
sir,” I said.
“And
you went to buy a creamsicle even though I said you couldn't
have one, right?”
“Yes,
sir,” I said.
“George,”
he said, “I'm very disappointed in you.”
Then
there was a pause and then he said, “But you told me the truth,
even though you could have gotten away with a lie, right?”
“
Yes, sir ,” I said, hopefully.
“Well,
that makes me proud,” he said, “Don't ever do that again and
let's get these things together to go home.”
So
we packed up our stuff and began to walk off the beach and
just as we were leaving the beach, who did we run into but
the creamsicle man!
My
dad stopped and looked at me, “Hey, George, how about a creamsicle?”
The
two disciples of Jesus in today's Gospel were lost. Every
thing was happening in Jerusalem. That's where Jesus rose
from the dead. But they were going in the opposite direction.
They were going to Emmaus. Jesus, however, did not forget
them. He came after them and turned them around so that they
could return to Jerusalem and witness his Resurrection. Those
disciples learned the same thing that I learned when I was
at Edgewater Park—that even when you're lost, even when you
make bad decisions, Jesus still loves you and comes to walk
with you. This is what I hope all of you who are making your
First Communion and Confirmation today will remember. You
belong to Jesus. He loves you deeply. Confirmation confirms
His love. The Eucharist invites you to the table to share
in His very life. Never forget His love for you.
This
is a lesson for all of us here today. No matter how lost you
may have become, no matter how many bad decisions you may
have made, you still belong to the family of God. Jesus does
not forget you. He is still your companion. So as we celebrate
today these sacraments of Confirmation and Eucharist, let
us always remember that Jesus is with us. Let us remember
that He will never stop loving us, that He will always lead
us home.
|
