The Little Red Hen revisited

Way back when my oldest grandson was around two years old I read The Little Red Hen to him every day: he had received the book as a Christmas gift. His attention was captivated by the red barn (a common theme throughout many of his books) and the mill … “mill, down, down, down” he says as the grain becomes flour. His favorite part is the ending when The Little Red Hen sits on her chair, with a pot of tea and a slice of bread with strawberry jam. If there was one thing Oliver enjoyed doing on a daily basis around this time of his life it was to help us make tea by filling the electric kettle, turning it on, pulling tea bags out of the canister, choosing mugs from the shelf or drawer, and then saying “pour, pour, pour” when the kettle comes to a boil and beeps. When he received his own tea set the following Christmas he could not have been happier. The tea set received more attention than the dump truck that I also gave him. And he loved dump trucks!

A GNARLY ENDING 

As I have read the short story to my grandson, I explained the ending … the duck, rat, and cat did not help. The Little Red Hen grew the grain, took it to the mill, and made the bread all by herself and she did not feel like sharing her bread with them. The first time I read this story I was captivated by the wonderful illustrations and watching my grandson enjoy the story as it unfolded. But as the days became weeks I began to wonder if this was such a great story to be reading to him. Is this the message I want him to learn? Only share this those who help you? Notice how often others don’t help you and keep track? Is this such a nice ending? I remember mulling this over for a few weeks but kept reading the story because it had become one of my grandson’s pre-nap time routines. And no-one messes with pre-nap time routine!

OUR EYE-OPENING EXPERIENCE

Fast forward six years, and a long philosophical, theological discussion about the nature of man, and what was really going on with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden around the time they chose to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil that was in the middle of the garden. We talked about human nature not being any different before this fruit was eaten, and that Adam and Eve were exactly the same as we are today. They needed their eyes open to the fact that they perhaps didn’t have as close a relationship with God as they thought, and they needed to face the decision that we all have to make when we encounter choosing to be in the image of God or whether to go our own way.

SOCIAL JUSTICE IS AT THE CORE

Part of our conversation touched on one of the salient points of scripture: social justice. How we treat others – whether individuals or a group – is what matters most. As Jesus summarized the Law and the Prophets: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Luke 10:27)  We are called to love God, love ourselves, and love our neighbors. God says to Hosea, “For I desiremercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings. Like Adam, they have broken the covenant; they were unfaithful to me there.”, (Hosea 6:6-7) and Jesus repeats this, “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matt 9:13)  God says this about Josiah: “Did not your father (Josiah) have food and drink? He did what was right and just, so all went well with him.He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?” declares the Lord. (Jer 22:15-16). James sums it up for us, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”  There are many Proverbs about taking care of the poor and needy, but this one sums it up powerfully, “Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done. (Prov 19:17)  Lends to the Lord. What a powerful concept!

When I think of all the verses in Scripture that talk about social justice it becomes obvious that this is our calling. This is important to God our Father. Adam and Eve thought they were close to God in the garden; they walked with him in the cool of the evening. But they were naive and needed their eyes open, and there is nothing like opening our eyes to have a choice put before us. We are given the same choice – daily. Do we resist temptation, or do we take things into our own hands?  Do we choose to be patient or impatient, kind or cruel, compassionate or judgmental, peaceful or chaotic, loving or mean? These are questions we need to ask about how we treat ourselves and then our neighbors. Do we choose to walk fruitfully spiritual lives, or do we choose to live dying ego lives? When Jesus returns will he be able to say, “Hey, welcome! Great to see you!” or will he say, “I am sorry – have we met? I don’t know you.” 

WHO ARE WE?

Do we choose to be the duck, the rat, or the cat who spent their days saying “Not I” and yet still expect to eat the bread?  It turns out that The Little Red Hen is exactly the story I should be reading daily, but from the perspective of the cat (or the sloth).