Nativity Catholic Church
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Humpty Dumpty's Fall
“All the
King’s horses and all the King’s men, In all of my days of theological studies and teaching, there were many sources to which I turned to grow in my understanding of God and the Church—plenty of crusty old books on library shelves that covered me in dust whenever I took them down from their perches. Some of the sources would be so far beyond human comprehension that I could easily see why they rarely left the shelf. It always seemed to me that the more common the source, the better it could be received and understood. Jesus himself often used common, simple stories from his tradition in order to drive home the finer points of God’s Reign. He wanted the teachings of the Kingdom to be accessible to people. In this vein, I’d like to embark on some “Mother Goose” theologizing. The children’s rhyme “Humpty Dumpty” tells more truth beyond the fact that a big, fat egg, probably sitting where he wasn’t supposed to be, became scrambled before his time! As a matter of interest, I have never felt as sorry for Mr. Dumpty as I have for those horses and men wallowing around in the shattered shell and yolk. After all, didn’t they have anything better to do for the king? Truth is…we, more often than not, are trying to put our own “Humpty Dumptys” back together again. We simply tell ourselves, if I just take this broken relationship and gently piece it back together again, it’ll be just like it was before. If I can restore things to the way they were “once upon a time,” the pain will be gone. If only she hadn’t said those words to me, it never would have ended the way it did. Upon a moment’s reflection, we readily see bits of shell strewn about our memories, our lives. The yolks of many falls still ooze up from within us. It’s almost as if so much of our past life is still happening now within us. For example, that summer (when you told your mother to get out of your life) you think is long past is going on within you now. The disappointing failure (in front of your friends who thought you so talented) you imagine has since faded, scratches away now within you. You are 7 and 15 and 31 and 61 and still leafing through a batch of old “photographs.” Our desire and need for reconciliation, of “making good again,” will often be nothing more than a nursery rhyme fantasy if that “making good again” is merely gluing the same pieces back together or making time stand still. The call to reconciliation, to restoration beckons for CHANGE. When we make good again, we are accepted, affirmed and loved into growth—and growth means change. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men cannot put Humpty together again—at least not the way he was before his tumble. To be reconciled, we need to be made good again—good in our feelings about ourselves, our past mistakes, failures, wounds and disappointments. Jesus, as proclaimer of God’s mercy, calls us to make and to be made good again. Humpty Dumpty may not have been put back together again as he once was, but all the king’s horses and all the king’s men probably could have helped Humpty Dumpty become a great omelet!
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