One Small Pebble
By Jane Tawel
February 17, 2019
From Dorothy Day: “What we would like to do is change the world – make it a little simpler for people to feed, clothe, and shelter themselves as God intended for them to do.… We can, to a certain extent, change the world; we can work for the oasis, the little cell of joy and peace in a harried world. We can throw our pebble in the pond and be confident that its ever widening circle will reach around the world. We repeat, there is nothing that we can do but love, and, dear God, please enlarge our hearts to love each other, to love our neighbor, to love our enemy as well as our friend.”
One Small Pebble
By Jane Tawel
Today I threw a pebble in the pond
The pond I’ve been assigned to;
I’d rather walk as Jesus walked,
Than grow moss upon a cold pew.
The first pebble that I threw
Was singing songs beside some Jews.
I sat in synagogue with them
And praised the God of Bethlehem.
I looked at faces, like my Lord’s
And ghostly hordes from holocausts,
And felt quite humbled by my tossed,
Small pebble of such little cost.
The second pebble that I threw
Was picking up the trash from you.
I didn’t use my gloves or sack
But just my hands to show the lack
Of love we feel for this mocked world.
The planet is My Father’s Pearl,
He treasures it as would a girl.
God loves the earth, the sky and sea
And that is why He planted me.
And by my awkward kneeling down
And worship, as I clean the ground,
And suffer for those able rebels,
I hope that others might throw pebbles;
By picking trash I missed today,
And following Jesus in His Way.
Another thing I had to do
Was cast some cash to the small crew,
That sleeps outside in my town’s park,
And oft reminds me of the stark,
Injustice that our world has spawned,
Increasing darkly since the Dawn
When Eden was first given us–
As something Good that God could trust
To us, His loved Imago Dei.
God fashioned us from common clay,
And gave us powers to rule the earth,
But ever since our sin was birthed,
We look upon this life as right
And choose not nourishment but fight.
And that reminded me that I
Should pray for enemies that lie
And tell the world they are in power
And do not fear the coming hour
When all the nations’ high built towers,
Will before Justice kneel and cower.
Ah, do we not regard the One,
Who claimed to be God’s only Son
And told us if we did not cry,
“Hosanna to the God on high”;
that all our faith would be just talk,
and God could get the praise from rocks!
It is not wealth nor earthly might
That can restore the world, once bright;
No, only we can make things right,
By seeking Justice, Goodness, Light.
Just one small act, but not one random,
But one that’s tethered to the Ransom
Of God, that Fisher of our shoals,
Who loves each lost and broken soul.
Oh God, who hurled out our small Mass,
May Thou, now seen through smoggy glass,
One day restore each stream and tree–
And let Your work begin in me.
So I pitch puny pebbles few
And hope that maybe when I do,
Against the tide of moral drought,
Those pebbles small will circle out
And like the pebble David hurled,
Will slay the Evils of this World.
I do not wear protective gloves,
Because there is no fear in Love.
And just because I claim each time
That some such problem is not mine;
I must confess that Good not done
Is just as bad as sins that are.
Because I’m guilty of this mess
And find the only way to bless,
The name of Yahweh is to walk
The walk and not to merely talk
About the change I wish to see.
The changes must begin with me.
If only all we foolish rebels,
Will keep on throwing our small pebbles,
Then ripples will in time expand,
To heal our hearts, and heal our land.
“A tiny human pebble”, you say,
“Will never Evil’s Giants slay”.
And yet, it was a pebble trivial,
That made small David, king of Israel.
And there was just a tomb’s small stone,
Preventing Jesus from His throne.
And when Christ rolled that stone away,
He rose from Death’s final decay.
We too can see the World’s perfection
By joining Christ in resurrection.
But first we must get dirty hands;
Tear down our towers built on sand.
We need to wash each other’s feet
And watch converging circles meet;
In streams of Love, my Rock, I fling
to truly imitate my King.
My circle that conjoins with yours
Can truly change the whole wide world.
Because by now it’s widely known
That Jesus is the Cornerstone.
He chose to heal and not throw stones,
And sent us out to be atoned.
And by His love He does persuade us,
to heal the world that He has made us.
And that’s best done avoiding trouble,
By merely picking up the rubble
And humbly, small-ly getting rid of,
Any thing that is not True Love.
For Truth and Love survive all clocks.
And so I fill my life with rocks,
To throw in God’s provided pools,
And join the cast of many fools,
Who think small actions can change Spheres;
As Christ’s return draws ever near.
For only if our nets we cast,
In Pools of Love, will this Life last.
The God-man who upon the cross,
Began new life with one small toss,
Will one day call us to His docket;
And count what’s hoarded in our pockets.
The Christ hurled all His power aside
And gave His life for His soiled Bride.
If I want to by God be known,
Then I must rid my heart of stones,
And empty out my life and heart
By throwing pebbles for my part;
And whether that seems worldly smart,
By foolish love of Earth I’ll chart
My course –as just one tiny stone–
Tossing it all before God’s throne.
God’s Kingdom Come
His Will be Done,
On this Blue Stone
As in His Home.
And while the preachers would coerce;
I thrust my hands inside my purse,
And hope by serving from my case,
The pebbles, with a joyful face;
I’ll show the Love, that for someone,
Will show the Love of God’s own Son.
Because this planet given to us,
Has now become so treasonous;
That by our fallen-ness and sin,
We will have brought World’s bitter end;
But only then God will be able,
To bring His Kingdom Ever Stable.
And then the King will on His throne,
Reward the ripples of small stones.
For one day all the world will tremble
Before The Christ, God’s One Small Pebble.
As Dorothy Day much more eloquently does in her writing, my hope and prayer, if you have chosen to read this far, is that you will discover that you have been given much and that your pockets are filled with the Good pebbles that God has given you. I hope you will begin to see as I am beginning to see that as The Christ said, “it is only by throwing out one’s life, that one truly gains Life.” I hope that what will be revealed are the small pebbles that the Beatitudes call the blessings of the poor in spirit; and that we will have courage to throw the pebbles out; tossing them one by one in the pools of our own particular lives, and in that way, change the world, one ripple of love at a time. The Ecclesiast in wisdom, advises to “throw your bread upon the waters; for you will find it after many days.” I hope if you are reading this and lack any good thing, that you will find the ripples of Goodness, Truth, and the Love of God cast upon the waters that are rippling toward you where you live today. If you have been given much, as I have, and realize that because of that, one day much will be required of us; I hope you might find joy in picking up someone else’s trash today, or give some of your money to make life a little simpler for someone else. Ultimately, as Ms. Day said, and as God says in His Word, even better –there is absolutely nothing worth doing but loving.
“Now these three things only will remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is Love” (Paul of Tarsus, a lover and servant of Adonai, The One True God)
Jane Tawel 