Lucy Alibar wrote the screenplay for Delia Owens’ bestseller and film, Where the Crawdads Sing. The story is about a young, poor-white-trash child, deserted by her entire family, raising herself in the marshes of North Carolina. Running out of grits, candles and matches, that cost money, Kya gets up before dawn and digs mussels.
The only folks who befriend Kya are Jumpin’ and Mabel, a loving Black couple who own a dock and bait store nearby. Bringing her mussels to Jumpin’, he offers to buy Kya’s mussels on a first-come-first-served basis. As the little girl walks out of the store, Mabel sadly reflects: “First her maw’s gone; now her paw’s gone, too.”
Jumpin’ turns from the door with a cocked eye and warns, “We ought to be careful; messin’ in other folk’s business.”
Almost indignant, Mabel responds, “It don’t say that in the Bible…‘Be careful.’ She then raises her voice, “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” She pauses, then adds again, “…doesn’t say nothin’ about ‘be careful.’” Jesus was not careful when he befriended Zacchaeus. No one liked Zacchaeus. No one. He was a despised thief who was only lavishly rich because he over-taxed the local populace for Rome. Jesus could have chosen his friends more carefully. But because Jesus was not careful, a human life was changed and redeemed.
A Samaritan traveling a desolate and dangerous road was not careful when he stopped and aided a man who had fallen among thieves. He bandaged his wounds and put up the money so the man would have shelter in an inn. Because the Samaritan was not careful, he has come down through history known as the good Samaritan.
Artist Janet Rand shares: “To laugh is to risk appearing the fool. To weep is to risk being called sentimental. To reach out to another is to risk involvement. To expose feelings is to risk showing your true self. To place your ideas and your dreams before the crowd is to risk being called naive. “To love is to risk not being loved in return. To live is to risk dying. To hope is to risk despair. To try is to risk failure. But risks must be taken, because the greatest risk in life is to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing, becomes nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn, feel, change, grow or love.”
And Father Mark Goldasich of the Archdiocese of Kansas City adds: “Risk is an essential part of our spiritual lives as well. There’s no easy way to become holy. Being a follower of Jesus involves the greatest risk of all: to stake our very life on his words, to trust wholeheartedly in his promises.
“It’s a risk to live these sayings of Jesus: ‘Deny yourself, take up your cross:’ ‘Love your enemies:’ ‘Stop judging:’ ‘Do not be afraid:’ ‘Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you:’ ‘Whoever loses his life for my sake will save it:’ ‘Do not worry about your life and what you will eat, or about your body and what you will wear:’ ‘Strive to enter through the narrow gate:’ and ‘Sell what you have and give to the poor.’ This lifestyle is not for the fainthearted, the half-hearted, the cautious. Being a follower of Jesus is demanding and risky.”
Christianity doesn’t say nothin’ about “be careful.”
- Log in or Subscribe to post comments.