Happy Easter

HappyEaster everyone.  I shred this story a few years ago on Easter but I share it with you again today because, well...it's agreat story. 

It is called “What was in Jeremy’s Egg.” It is by Ida Mae Kempel

Jeremy was born with a twisted body and a slow mind.

   At age 12 he was still in second grade, seemingly unable to learn.
      His teacher, Doris Miller, often became exasperated with him.

         He would squirm in his seat, drool and make grunting noises.

At other times, he spoke clearly and distinctly,

  as if a light had penetrated the darkness of his brain.

Most of the time, however, Jeremy simply irritated his teacher

   and disturbed the other children.

One day his teacher called in his parents to come

    to St. Theresa’s School for a conference.

She told them, “Jeremy really needs to be in a special school.

   It isn’t fair to him to be in a class with younger children

      who don’t have learning problems.

        Why there is a five year age gap between him and the other children.”

Jeremy’s mother began to cry softly, while her husband spoke,

  “Mrs. Miller,” he said, “There is no school of that kind nearby.

     It would be a terrible shock to Jeremy if we had to take him out of this school. We know he really likes it here.”

Doris sat for a long time after they left, staring out the window as the snow began to fall.

She wanted to sympathize with Jeremy’s parents…after all he was their only son and he had a terminal illness. But still it wasn’t fair to the rest of the class. She had 18 other youngsters to teach and Jeremy was a distraction.

      
As she pondered the situation guilt washed over her,

“O God,” she said aloud, “Here I am complaining

    when my problems are nothing compared to that poor family.

      Please help me to be more patient with Jeremy.

From that day on, she tried hard to ignore Jeremy’s noises and blank stares.

  Then one day Jeremey approached her desk, dragging his bad leg behind him.

     “I love you Miss Miller,” he exclaimed.

        The other students snickered, and Doris’ face turned red.

She stammered, “Why…Jeremy, that’s very nice; now please take you seat.”

Spring came and the children talked excitedly about Easter.

  Miss Miller told them the story of Jesus,

    and then to emphasize the idea of new life springing forth,

       she gave each of them a plastic egg.

“Now,” she said, “I want you to take this egg home with you tonight

    and bring it back tomorrow with something inside that shows new life.

       Do you understand?”

“Yes Miss Miller,” the children shouted enthusiastically… all except Jeremy who simply stared intently at his teacher. Did he understand, she wondered, making a mental note to call his parents and explain the project to them.

That evening, Doris’ sink stopped up. A couple of other diversions and sure enough, she forgot to call Jeremy’s parents.

The next morning the 19 children came into school laughing and talking as they placed their eggs in the large wicker basket on Miss Miller’s desk.

The time came to open the eggs.

  In the first egg, Doris found a flower.

     “Oh yes,” she said, “A flower is certainly a sign of new life.

          When a plant peeks through the earth we know that Spring is near.”

A small girl in the first row waved her hand, “That’s my egg, Miss Miller.”

   

The next egg contained a plastic butterfly, which looked very real. Doris held it up. “We all know that a caterpillar changes and becomes a beautiful butterfly. Yes that is new life too.” Little Judy smiled, “That one is mine Miss Miller.”

Next, Doris found a rock with moss on it. She explained that moss too showed life. Billy spoke up from the back of the classroom. “My daddy helped me,” he beamed.

Then Doris opened the fourth egg. She gasped. The egg was empty. Surely it was Jeremy’s egg, she thought, and of course, he did not understand the assignment. If only she had not forgotten to phone his parents.

   Not wanting to embarrass him, she placed the egg aside and reached for the next one. Suddenly, Jeremy spoke up, “Miss Miller, aren’t you going to talk about my egg?” Flustered, Doris replied, “But Jeremy, your egg is empty.” He looked into her eyes and said softly, “Yes, but Jesus’ tomb was empty too.”

Time stopped. When she could speak again, Doris asked him,  “Jeremy, do you know why the tomb was empty?” “Oh yes,” Jeremy replied, “Jesus was killed and put in there. Then his father raised Him up”

The recess bell rang. While the children excitedly ran out to the playground, Doris sat and cried. The cold inside her melted completely away.

Three months later Jeremy died. Those who paid their respects at the mortuary were surprised to see 19 eggs on top of the casket, all of them empty.

I don’t think I have to add anything to that story.

   The empty tomb is the core event of our faith.

       It is what we celebrate this day!

Happy Easter everyone!