Nativity Catholic Church
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Passing Things Off An occasional trip to “Friendly’s Ice Cream Restaurant” not only provides a tasty lunch, but often a few insights into life. On a recent visit for one of their juicy burgers, I caught sight of a mother and her two young daughters in a booth near mine. I pegged the ages of the little girls around 4 and 1 ½ years old. Within seconds of being seated, the four year old quickly plunged into her artistic work with the children’s menu/coloring page and the brightly colored crayons, so courteously provided by their server. She cared little for anything else at the moment, even deciding what she would eat for her lunch. As mom whisked through (several times) the usual kids’ meal options—chicken strips, hot dogs, and fries—it wasn’t until the words “Mac ‘n Cheese” popped out that the girl stopped her coloring long enough to give her enthusiastic assent (I was betting on the perennial favorite “chicken fingers”). While the artist scribbled away, and mom tried to remember what day of the week it was, baby sister sat in her highchair un-phased by all the excitement, simply smiling and playing with a spoon. When lunch finally arrived, and big sister’s plate was placed in front of her, she cried out, “PICKLES!” and made one of those priceless faces only a child can make when being served “life-threatening” food! Their teenage server, obviously still new at the job, mistook her acclamation as a vote in favor of the pickles, but the little girl quickly corrected her with the words, “EEEyew…I HATE pickles!” And then, without a moment’s delay, she gathered up the pickles, launched them onto her baby sister’s plate, and announced: “She LOVES pickles!” As I watched this scenario unfold, I was reminded of one of the great truths of life: IT’S USEFUL TO HAVE A BABY SISTER (or brother) TO PASS THINGS OFF TO! Over the course of my growing up, there were many a time that my sister, the youngest of the three of us, was on the receiving end of “hand offs” from my brother and me. I suspected that this four year old had done what generations of other siblings have been doing for eons—and I also suspected that the baby girl in the highchair was getting the pickles whether she liked them or not! (I never did see the baby actually put one of the pickles in her mouth). Like many things along life’s path, the “passing off” of things we dislike is not limited to unwanted fruits or vegetables, and certainly is not limited to shoving them onto the plate of a baby sister or brother. As our path gets thornier and more complicated, and the maturing years of life bring us unexpected challenges and heartaches, we never seem to abandon our desire to “pass off” things that we cannot seem to deal with, things we feel are undeserved or unmerited, problems and situations that stick us in our guts. And while those of us with siblings may still try the old hand off to the youngest in the family, our “dumping zones” seem to widen to include anyone within range. The great American pastime, which now surpasses anything reported on the sports pages of the newspaper or blathered about on non-stop-sports-babble AM radio or television, is SHIFTING BLAME—it always seems to be some one or some thing else that is the source of our troubles, rather than ourselves. While I am not advocating irresponsibility for the decisions and consequences of the lives we lead, there is at least one welcome place to pass off the trials and pains of our lives. In fact, we are INVITED to do so, as a testament to our faith and confidence in the one who extends the invitation. The Evangelist Matthew recalls Jesus making just such a broad and inclusive invitation to leave our cares and worries with him. In those famous lines, which seem to always ring so sweetly in the ears of the followers of Christ, we find our safe place for unloading, the welcoming arms in which to lay down our burdens, a more than willing companion of enormous strength to whom we are “yoked” while carrying our heavy weights, a brother who accepts whatever our hearts need to “pass off” in order to find peace:
“Come to me, all you who
labor and are burdened, and Most days, I’m sure each of us wishes we were only trying to dump a few pickles onto someone else’s plate instead of dealing with the more complex and unnerving burdens we are facing. Whether our cares are large or small, let us hear the gentle, humble invitation to draw close to the heart of the Lord Jesus, and know that it is more than “okay” to pass a few things off.
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