Saturday, February 25, 2006
Are you an angel?
By Henrylito D. Tacio
Regarding Henry
WHEN I was still a kid, my mother used to tell me some stories. One of those that I couldn't forget was this story: Jim and Ellen and their five children were a picture of a happy family. They were known in the community as loving, kind, and accommodating. Until one day, Jim lost his job.
But despite all the hardships, Jim still managed to feed his family. He did some odd jobs in the town like fixing cars. And to make both ends meet, Ellen accepted doing laundry from her neighbors. Some of the kids -- there were eight of them -- had to stop schooling.
One day, three friends of Ellen came to visit her. She prepared something for them. They were laughing and talking when suddenly the eldest daughter of Ellen came and told her there was someone outside their house wanting to talk to her. Immediately her friends warned Ellen: "Be careful. Don't have anything to do with a man's coming begging! Now hear!"
But still Ellen went to see the man. At the door, she saw an old man with graying hair and soft, warm eyes. "I'm sorry to bother you," he said, "but my car broke down and I'm walking to town. I would appreciate it if you could give me some water and just a bit of food if you could spare it."
Ellen was dumbfounded -- she was hesitant to do the right thing. Her friends had influenced her. Instead of getting the water and food, she stood there. Eyes met and the old man waited a few seconds and then silently he turned away. Ellen felt ashamed as she went back to the table, but worse was the condemning look from her daughter.
Quickly, she grabbed a pitcher of orange juice, some bread, and ran out of the house look for the old man. She found him under the mango tree, standing and telling a story to her children. Ellen offered him the juice and the bread and told him to wait as she went to prepare a pack lunch for the old man. She returned and said, "I'm sorry about the way I acted."
The old man replied, "That's all right, too many people are influenced by others. But unlike some, you have overcome it and this speaks well for you."
That very night, Jim had wonderful news to his wife. The car he had repaired belonged to a man whose brother ran a repair shop and was looking for a mechanic. He hired Jim on the spot!
Later, Ellen told Jim about the events of the afternoon. When finished, he asked, "Did you say this was an elderly man with grey hair and soft, warm eyes?" He jumped out of bed and went through his wallet until he found a piece of folder paper which he handed to Ellen and said, "I met that man walking down the road when I came from town. He waved me over and gave this to me. When I finished reading it, I looked up and he was gone, just disappeared!"
But what struck me most about the story above was the old man. Was he an angel? The Bible states: "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it" (Hebrews 13:2).
Are angels for real? My research shows that belief in angels can be found in the history of all nations. The ancient Egyptians, Phoenicians, Greeks, and others all expressed their belief in angels. A.S. Joppie, author of "All About Angels," writes: "The Mohammedans believe in angels. They believe that two angels are assigned to each person. The angel on the right hand records all your good deeds. The angel on your left records all your evil deeds."
The Hebrews taught there were four great angels. Most noted is Gabriel, who reveals the secrets of God to men. Michael, on the other hand, fights and avenges God's foes. Raphael receives the departing spirits from the dead while Uriel will summon everybody to judgment.
Now, let's go back to the subject of kindness. A couple of years ago, a group of salesman attended a national conference in Cebu. Delegates from Davao assured their wives that they would be home in plenty of time for supper on Friday night.
One thing led to another and the conference ran overtime. The men had to race to the airport, tickets in hand. As they barged through the terminal, one man inadvertently kicked over a table supporting a basket of mangoes.
Without stopping, they all reached the plane in time and boarded it with a sigh of relief.
All but one. He paused, got in touch with his feelings, and experienced a twinge of compassion for the girl whose mangoes stand had been overturned. He waved goodbye to his companions and returned to the terminal. He was glad he did. The ten-year-old girl was blind. The salesman gathered up the mangoes and noticed that several of the mangoes were battered and bruised. He reached into his wallet and said to the girl, "Here, please take this five hundred pesos for the damage we did. I hope it didn't spoil your day."
As the salesman started to walk away, the bewildered girl called out to him, "Are you an angel?" He stopped in mid-stride and he wondered.
What did William Penn once say about kindness? "I expect to pass through life but once," he penned. "If therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again."
For comments, write me at tasyo2002@yahoo.com
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