TEAMWORK, EVANGELIZING
Jn 10, 27-30 my sheep hear my voice
From the African jungles comes the fable of an elephant and a thrush
that got into an argument as to whose voice could be heard the farthest.
The
other animals consented to judge the contest.
Before the day set for the test,
the thrush fluttered from one to another of all his friends and said:
“As soon
as I start to sing, all of you fly far away. When you hear my voice, you take
up the notes and sing them to others who will be still farther away. By working
together, we can extend my voice well beyond the reach of the elephant’s.”
The
elephant began the contest by letting out a bellow that shook the trees like a
wind. Then the thrush sounded her song; it was sweet, but oh so tiny and weak.
Yet, another thrush heard it about 50 yards away and took up the notes. Another
50 yards beyond, more or less, other thrush caught up the song and sent it on
and on.
The judges, led by the lion, started out to see how far each voice had
carried.
Yes, some monkeys had heard the elephant’s voice two hundred yards
away. But nobody three hundred yards distant heard the elephant. Yet, they
heard the song of the thrush. One half mile farther, they had heard the thrush,
but not the elephant.
Co‑operation gets things done. Enlisting the help of others accomplishes seemingly impossible feats. The Catholic press, for example, carries the voice of the Church beyond the reach of the human voice.(Fr. Arthur Tonne, Stories for Sermons, V)
