
Tuesday, October 7, 2003
But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your
Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
So, Fabre captured enough caterpillars to encircle the rim of a flowerpot. He linked them nose to
posterior and started them walking in the closed circle. For days they turned like a perpetual
merry-go-round. Although food was near at hand and accessible, the caterpillars starved to
death on an endless march to nowhere.
That seems to be the story of many people today. They are on a march that leads to nowhere.
We need to stop for a moment, and sit down in the presence of Jesus.
(Matthew 6.6
NRSV)
You may know the famous story of Jean Henri Fabre, the French naturalist, and his processional
caterpillars. He encountered some of these interesting creatures one day while walking in the
woods. They were marching in a long unbroken line front to back, front to back. What fun it
would be, Fabre thought, to make a complete ring with these worms and let them march in a
circle.
God of salvation, may I find true fulfillment by being in the presence of your Son. Amen.