Thursday, October 05, 2006
Lilies of the Field
Good morning,
Fact or fiction, divine hand makes good stories.
Five immigrant nuns, a Mother and four Sisters, were doing God's work. They lived off the land; they farmed. They had no money, but they needed to build a chapel. They had no means to do it but their faith was that God would help them.
A young man, Homer Smith, was returning home in his jalopy, happy as a lark. Bad luck, his car overheated. Where was he to get some water to cool the engine ? He spotted a dilapidated house and stopped by for the water. A few minute's work and he would be on his way, he thought. But he ended up building the chapel.
Homer was asked to fix the roof which he reluctantly obliged the helpless ladies, having helped himself to the water; he asked to be paid but he got served a meal instead. After the meal, he watched curiously as the nuns set up the gramophone and the four Sisters learned English guided by the Mother, who herself spoke only some. Then the mood got him to teach them in his own way.
Sort of coerced to stay the night, he was asked to build the chapel the next morning; with what, there was nothing except some bricks and a building plan. But again he obliged and started to lay the few bricks; and he ate the meals they set but he was not paid for the work he did.
Sunday came, Homer took the five nuns to church. When word got round that he was building the chapel, it was incredulous, the nuns had nothing to build anything. As it was, the priest was holding the service in the open, there was no church building. The community was really poor.
Then Homer saw a big sleek truck which attracted him, and he worked part time hauling things for the company. And with the money he bought provisions, and enjoyed the company of the nuns while teaching them English and sang church songs. Somehow he got rooted, wanting to depart but reluctantly stayed, while he laid the corner wall until he ran out of bricks .
But the Mother was not appreciative of his buying food instead of building materials, and he left angrily. The skeptics thus asserted that their impression of him was correct while others believed that he would come back.
And then Homer came back, happy as a lark, and that was the turning point.
From then, one by one, each of the poor folks brought building materials and helped. And even those who were indifferent before came to pitch in, including the bartender and the truck company boss who himself hauled in a truck full of bricks. There was a moment of comic stance when Homer refused to let anybody help, but the folks were discreetly persuasive during his tiredness carrying and laying those huge bricks, and he relented, after which he was not even allowed to work. But a big group of eager hands working independently could be quite counter productive, and before long he was unanimously appointed the Boss.
As a heart warming story of this sort, everything turned out well, and the chapel was magically completed with everything that a beautiful chapel ought to have, all which came from the folks own heirloom, statues, chandeliers etc..
That is the gist of the 1960's movie Lilies of the Field starring Sidney Poitier, a story which appeals to those who believe in divine guidance. It is a very good movie nevertheless, as it is usual with other movies Sidney Poitier starred in.
Have a nice day
Ronald
Fact or fiction, divine hand makes good stories.
Five immigrant nuns, a Mother and four Sisters, were doing God's work. They lived off the land; they farmed. They had no money, but they needed to build a chapel. They had no means to do it but their faith was that God would help them.
A young man, Homer Smith, was returning home in his jalopy, happy as a lark. Bad luck, his car overheated. Where was he to get some water to cool the engine ? He spotted a dilapidated house and stopped by for the water. A few minute's work and he would be on his way, he thought. But he ended up building the chapel.
Homer was asked to fix the roof which he reluctantly obliged the helpless ladies, having helped himself to the water; he asked to be paid but he got served a meal instead. After the meal, he watched curiously as the nuns set up the gramophone and the four Sisters learned English guided by the Mother, who herself spoke only some. Then the mood got him to teach them in his own way.
Sort of coerced to stay the night, he was asked to build the chapel the next morning; with what, there was nothing except some bricks and a building plan. But again he obliged and started to lay the few bricks; and he ate the meals they set but he was not paid for the work he did.
Sunday came, Homer took the five nuns to church. When word got round that he was building the chapel, it was incredulous, the nuns had nothing to build anything. As it was, the priest was holding the service in the open, there was no church building. The community was really poor.
Then Homer saw a big sleek truck which attracted him, and he worked part time hauling things for the company. And with the money he bought provisions, and enjoyed the company of the nuns while teaching them English and sang church songs. Somehow he got rooted, wanting to depart but reluctantly stayed, while he laid the corner wall until he ran out of bricks .
But the Mother was not appreciative of his buying food instead of building materials, and he left angrily. The skeptics thus asserted that their impression of him was correct while others believed that he would come back.
And then Homer came back, happy as a lark, and that was the turning point.
From then, one by one, each of the poor folks brought building materials and helped. And even those who were indifferent before came to pitch in, including the bartender and the truck company boss who himself hauled in a truck full of bricks. There was a moment of comic stance when Homer refused to let anybody help, but the folks were discreetly persuasive during his tiredness carrying and laying those huge bricks, and he relented, after which he was not even allowed to work. But a big group of eager hands working independently could be quite counter productive, and before long he was unanimously appointed the Boss.
As a heart warming story of this sort, everything turned out well, and the chapel was magically completed with everything that a beautiful chapel ought to have, all which came from the folks own heirloom, statues, chandeliers etc..
That is the gist of the 1960's movie Lilies of the Field starring Sidney Poitier, a story which appeals to those who believe in divine guidance. It is a very good movie nevertheless, as it is usual with other movies Sidney Poitier starred in.
Have a nice day
Ronald
# posted by chunmu @ 5:52 PM 
