Modern Short Stories: A Book for High Schools — John Shaqi
Modern Short Stories: A Book for High Schools
General
Modern Short Stories: A Book for High Schools
Fiction; Short stories
“And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the
other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy
coat also. Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that
taketh away thy goods ask them not again. And as ye would that men
should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.”
Then, further on, he had read those verses where the Lord says:
“And why call ye Me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
Whosoever cometh to Me and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I
will show you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an
house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when
the flood arose, the storm beat vehemently upon that house, and
could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that
heareth and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built
an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat
vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was
great.”
Avdeitch read these words, and felt greatly cheered in soul. He took
off his spectacles, laid them on the book, leaned his elbows upon
the table, and gave himself up to meditation. He set himself to
measure his own life by those words, and thought to himself:
“Is my house founded upon a rock or upon sand? It is well if it be
upon a rock. Yet it seems so easy to me as I sit here alone. I may
so easily come to think that I have done all that the Lord has
commanded me, and grow careless and—sin again. Yet I will keep on
striving, for it is goodly so to do. Help Thou me, O Lord.”
Thus he kept on meditating, though conscious that it was time for
bed; yet he was loathe to tear himself away from the book. He began
to read the seventh chapter of St. Luke, and read on about the
centurion, the widow’s son, and the answer given to John’s
disciples; until in time he came to the passage where the rich
Pharisee invited Jesus to his house, and the woman washed the Lord’s
feet with her tears and He justified her. So he came to the
forty-fourth verse and read:
“And He turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this
woman? I entered into thine house, and thou gavest Me no water for
My feet: but she hath washed My feet with tears, and wiped them with
the hairs of her head. Thou gavest Me no kiss: but this woman since
the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss My feet. My head with oil
thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed My feet with
ointment.”
He read these verses and thought:
“‘Thou gavest Me no water for My feet’ ... ‘Thou gavest Me no kiss’
... ‘My head with oil thou didst not anoint’ ...”—and once again he
took off his spectacles, laid them on the book, and became lost in
meditation.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account