Tuesday, June 16, 1998
Tuesday, June 16, 1998
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
(Romans 5:6
NRSV)
In 1849, financier Joshua A. Norton came to San Francisco with $40,000 and big ambitions. For
five years he invested his money wisely until he was filthy rich. Then he took a gamble. He
invested all of his money in the rice market. The market fell through and he lost every penny. No
one saw him again for five years.
Then, in 1859, Joshua Norton walked into the office of the San Francisco BULLETIN and told
them to print a proclamation that he was Emperor Norton I, emperor of the United States. As a
joke, the editor printed his proclamation.
The people of San Francisco decided to humor Emperor Norton I. They treated him with great
respect. Local ships and railroad lines gave him free passes. The city bought him new military
uniforms when his old ones wore out. A printer created Emperor Norton currency, which he was
allowed to use in any establishment in town. Restaurants put up signs advertising his patronage.
He was allowed to speak at all the sessions of the state legislature. He and his two dogs even had
free, reserved seats at the theater.
Emperor Norton made many suggestions about improving the city, but most of these suggestions
were brushed off as ravings of a madman. Yet after his death, many of his suggestions were acted
upon--a bridge over the Golden Gate and the East Bay, wider streets, gaslights put up for safety,
and filling in of the swamplands to the east of Montgomery Street. All these things came to pass.
Emperor Norton I died in 1880. His funeral was lavish, and many thousands showed up to mourn
him. He is memorialized in San Francisco's Wells Fargo museum, and in local history books. He
was a most successful fraud.
Contrast the burial accorded Emperor Norton with that given to Jesus of Nazareth. There was
nothing fraudulent about Jesus. Never was a man more authentic. Nobody walked the talk better
than he did. He told his disciples to forgive their enemies, and as he hung on the cross, he prayed
for forgiveness for those who had put him there. He told his disciples to serve the least and the
lowest, and among his last words were words of encouragement to a thief who was dying beside
him. He told his disciples that on the third day he would be raised from the dead, and when the
women went to the tomb, it was empty. What he preached, he practiced. No one who knew him
ever called him a fraud. Even Judas, the friend whose kiss sealed his doom, declared that he had
betrayed innocent blood. Yet there were few admirers at Jesus' funeral. He did not die a celebrity
as did Emperor Norton of San Francisco. But, this is all right. Not many truly Godly people will
die as celebrities. Let's just be thankful for Jesus' willingness to die for each one of us!
Prayer: Jesus my savior, thank you for dying for my sins. I may not be a celebrity, but I
will do my best to be faithful to you. Amen.
Ronald Newhouse, Texas, USA