In the fictional novel The Clowns of God by Morris West, Jesus comes back to earth, and some people think it's Him while some don't. At one point, Jesus is at a school for children with Down syndrome, and He is holding a little girl. Jesus says:The Jesus that is described her is nothing more than a bully. What kind of person would have the power to heal someone and not use it? A sociopath, that’s what kind. There aren’t many things more disgusting than the idea of someone having the cure for something at not using it, only to say nothing more than “I work in mysterious ways.” Mysterious or not, they are loathsome ways. Why would anyone worship someone who obviously has no regard for the health of the people he claims to love?
"I know what you are thinking. You need a sign. What better one could I give but to make this little one whole and new? I could do it, but I will not. I am the Lord and not a conjurer. I gave this mite a gift I denied to all of you — eternal innocence. To you she looks imperfect — but to me she is flawless, like the bud that dies unopened or the fledgling that falls from the nest to be devoured by ants. She will never offend me, as all of you have done. She will never pervert or destroy the work of my Father's hands. She is necessary to you. She will evoke the kindness that will keep you human. Her infirmity will prompt you to gratitude for your own good fortune... More! She will remind you every day that I am who I am, that my ways are not yours, and that the smallest dust mite whirled in the darkest spaces does not fall out of my hand... I have chosen you. You have not chosen me. This little one is my sign to you. Treasure her!"
It should also be noted that children with Down syndrome are not “eternally innocent”, they are sick. Essentially, Down syndrome is when a person has either part of, or a full extra chromosome. This can cause multiple problems on top of actually having Down syndrome such as congenital heart disease, thyroid disease, leukemia, Hirschsprungs disease, epilepsy, and a host of other disorders. That doesn’t sound like a “flawless child,” that sounds like a child that is suffering terribly.
This entire story was written as an anti-abortion piece. There are parents out there who chose to terminate a pregnancy when they learn that the fetus is deformed, has a disorder, etc. There is nothing wrong with that. It is horribly selfish of someone to know that a fetus is sick and still bring it into this world so that the person that the fetus turns into can suffer for its entire life. The shame does not lie at the feet of the parents who chose to terminate a sick fetus, it lies at the feet of people who bring sick children into the world and then try to shame everyone else who doesn’t want to make that decision.
It is up to the parents if they want to have a child that is ill or to wait until they have a healthy fetus. To write a book on the joys of having a sick child is demented and using an imaginary person (who would shoulder the blame for the sickness if he were real) is absurd. I am sure that the people deciding to terminate a pregnancy are not going into the process willy-nilly. It takes a lot of heart-break, sorrow, tears, and thought.
But if Jesus wants us to all have some sort of disease because it will teach us about the mysteries of God and faith, then we should all smile and be happy at our horrible disposition.
No comments:
Post a Comment