Second Sunday in Ordinary Time: The Sign

(Second Draft)


Her name is Elsie, she’s 86 and she’s hard-of hearing.

Tonight, she sits at a table in an elegant hall, the lights are low.
A handful of dancers have just finished a waltz.

Across the room, on the other side of the dance floor,
a projection screen is set up.

Elsie pushes aside a desert plate and a half-glass of Chablis…
she leans forward.

She’s been looking forward to this day for a long time.
It’s Todd’s wedding, the wedding of her first great-grandchild.
And she’s anticipating the video presentation.
Her son, Richard, told her there’d be a video
and that there’d a surprise for her in the video.

She has no idea of what that might be, but she can’t wait.

So far, it’s been a wonderful day, though a bit difficult.
You see, Elsie, lost her husband three years ago.
Three years… and she still feels awkward in public without him.

And today, oh, my, what a day!
So much the commotion.
So much going on.

Unfortunately,
· her arthritis makes it difficult to walk
but she shuffles along and tries not to be in the way.
· at church, she takes a seat where she is told.
· when someone attempts to engage her in conversation,
she does her best to catch a word or two…
but, mostly, she just smiles and nods her head.

But now, the dim even more and the video begins.
She settles back to enjoy the show.

She doesn’t know it yet,
but the surprise awaiting her
is bigger than either her or her son Richard know.

The surprise will a Sign.

Yes, a sign awaits Elsie,
a miraculous sign,
a sign from God.

* * *

The first frame appears on the screen.
To Elsie’s surprise, it’s a picture of her husband Jack.
A picture from years ago.
He’s in his uniform, his sergeant’s uniform.
His eyes are bright, his face so young.

Elsie’s hand reaches out to touch the face of the man she loved
but the picture changes and now, suddenly, it’s her and Jack.

He’s leaning into her, she’s holding a baby.
It is Ricky? It must be Ricky.

Now another picture.
Tears come to her eyes
and the tear blur the outlines of their house,
the house she and Jack built on Greenlawn Avenue.
She blinks away the tears to see a tricycle.
Who is that on the tricyle?
Is it Ricky? No, it’s Todd.

She recognizes the sweater the boy is wearing.
She thinks maybe she bought it for him.

The pictures keep changing,
dissolving then fading then emerging again and again.

The people around her are laughing and talking
and she wishes they’d be quiet.
Don’t they see?
Don’t they see how important this is?
This is her life, all the heartfelt love of her life
flashing here before their eyes.

And that’s when it happens!

That’s when she receives the Sign.
She’s not sure if anyone else sees it, but she does.
And that’s all that matters.
Elsie is mesmerized.

There, on the screen,
a stone chapel set amid palm trees,
the Pacific Ocean in the background.

A young woman with dark skin and a blue veil
stands at the chapel door
holding a silver plate,
a bright shining disk.

The woman looks like a bit like the Blessed Mother.

Elsie squints her eyes.
The woman turns the tray.
The sun glints off its surface
and there, in the silver frame is another image of Jack.

But that’s more than an image,
it’s real, it’s very real.
And it’s frightening!
Jack’s wearing a helmet and he’s injured
and he’s there, inside the stone chapel, praying.

Elsie can read his thoughts.
He’s praying for her and he wants to come home…
and Elsie knows why.

It’s because they have a baby on the way
and Jack’s begging God to heal his wound
and make him strong
so he can be the husband and father he longs to be.

Elsie is transfixed.

Jack stands, his face in pain.
He hobbles up the aisle to light a candle.

Elsie leans back in her chair, overwhelmed.
This is a revelation to her.
Jack never told her about that prayer of his
or that stone chapel on that island…
but she knows it’s true.

Her hands are shaking.
Maybe it’s the wine.
Maybe its her medication…but…
was that really Mary who showed her this scene?

Maybe, Elsie thinks, she’s seeing things.
Yet, all the same, that scene was just like Jack!

Of course he would have prayed to come home
because he loved her
and he put his life in God’s hands
and he relied on his faith
to get him through the war and back home to her.

That’s just like Jack.

And it’s just like God.

It’s just like God
to give her this sign…this evening
…on the night of this wedding.

Elsie’s not sure what the Sign all means
or how it came about.
But, like Mary, she holds the revelation close to her heart…
and no one else needs to know.

* * *

The video presentation comes to an end.
People are dancing again.

Elsie’s legs are stiff
her heart is beating with the rhythm of the music.

The bride is dancing with her father
and love fills the air.
In her heart, Elsie feels the peace of gratitude
and she prays that God will fill the life of Todd and his young bride
with the happiness she and Jack once knew.

And she prays that soon they will notice the signs,
all the marvelous signs of God’s power and grace flowing into their lives,
· pressing upon their hearts,
· piling up like stones in the walls of a chapel,
· flowing forth like rich wine from stone water jars.

Some call it salvation.
Others might call it grace.

But Elsie is a Catholic and the word that comes to mind is Sacrament…
something very holy yet very ordinary at the same time.

Yes, the Sign had the feel of a Sacrament.
the arms of God’s love
enfolding us, holding us
everyday of our life.

Elsie, you see, is old enough and wise enough to know
that sacraments begin in church
but are not confined to church.
Rather, they strengthen us to see signs of God’s love everywhere.

Tonight, God’s love fills the wedding hall
just as surely as it fills the halls of heaven

And, someday, she’ll get there.
And Jack will be there
And Christ and the Blessed Mother will be there
And it’ll be the Wedding-at-Cana all over again.



(First Draft)

Her name is Elsie, she’s 86 and hard-of hearing.
She sits at a table in an elegant hall, the lights are low
and a handful of dancers have just finished a waltz.

A projection screen is set up and Elsie pushes aside a desert plate
and a half-glass of Chablis
She leans forward.
It’s the wedding of her first great-grandchild
and her son, the groom’s father, told her there’d a video.

So far, it’s been a difficult day for Elsie.
She lost her husband three years ago but it seems like yesterday.
Three years and she still feels awkward in public without him.

And today. Why, all the commotion!
It’s been tiring and she hopes someone will drive her home soon.
Her arthritis makes it difficult to move
but she shuffles along and tries not to be in the way.
She takes a seat where she is told
and, when someone approaches to engage her in conversation,
she does her best to catch a word or two here or there
but, mostly, she just smiles and nods her head.

But now, the video begins and, though she doesn’t know it yet,
a miraculous sign is about to unfold before her eyes.

The first frame, to Elsie’s surprise, is that of her husband Jack.
He’s in his uniform, his eyes so bright, his face so young.
Without thinking,
she reaches out her hand to touch the face of the man she loved
but the picture changes and now it’s her and Jack.
He’s leaning into her, she’s holding a baby.
It is Ricky? It must be Ricky.
Tears come to her eyes
and blur the outlines of their house on Greenlawn
then a tricycle. It’s little Ricky and she recognizes the sweater he’s wearing.
She thinks maybe she bought it for him.

The pictures keep changing,
sliding form right corner to left,
dissolving then fading then emerging again and again
and the people around her are laughing and talking
and she wishes they’d be still.
Don’t they see?
Don’t they see how important this is?
This is life, her life, all the heartfelt love of her life
flashing here before their eyes.

And that’s when it happens.
That’s when she receives the sign.
She’s not sure if anyone else sees it, but she does,
and that’s all that matters.

There, on the screen,
a stone chapel set amid pines,
the Pacific Ocean in the background.

A young woman with dark skin and a blue veil
stands at the chapel door
holding a silver plate,
a bright shining disk.
The woman, who is Mary, turns the tray
and the sun glints off its surface
And there, in the silver frame is an image of Jack
that’s more than an image.
It’s real, it’s very real
and he’s injured and he’s praying inside the chapel.
And Elsie can read his thoughts.
He’s praying for her and he wants to come home
because they have a baby on the way
and Jack’s begging God to heal his wound
and make him strong
so he can be the husband and husband he longs to be.

Elsie is transfixed as she watches Jack stand,
his face in pain.
He hobbles up the aisle to light a candle.

He’s never told her about that prayer of his
or that chapel on that island
but she knows it’s true.
After all, wasn’t that just Mary who showed her this scene
and wasn’t this scene just like Jack.
Of course he would have prayed
because he loved her and he loved Christ
and he put his life in God’s hands and he relied on Christ
to get him through the war and back to her.

It’s just like Jack
and it’s just like God.

to give her this sign this evening.

She’s not sure what it means
or how it came about
but the presentation is over now
and people are dancing again
and though her legs are stiff
her heart is beating with the rhythm
of the music.
The bride is dancing with her father
and love fills the air
and she prays that God will be at work in the lives of the young couple
and that they, like her, will begin to notice the signs,
all the signs of God’s salvation
pressing upon their hearts
piling up like stones in the walls of a chapel,
flowing forth like wine from a stone water jar.

Some people call it grace,
others call it salvation.

But Elsie calls it love.
God’s love.

The signs of it are every where.
It fills the wedding hall
and she knows, someday, it’ll fill the halls of heaven
and she’ll there and Jack will be there
and it’ll be the wedding of Cana all over again.