Hearing the Cock Crow

Our priest this morning told us a very moving story that I wanted to post (in paraphrase as I wasn't taking notes):

A priest was hungry at lunch time and stopped at this hamburger joint. It was fairly crowded and while he waited his turn to order, he noticed an elderly black man standing alone at another counter, waiting patiently for someone to take his order, but he was being ignored. The priest was in a hurry, so he didn't say anything.

The priest waited his turn and ordered a cheeseburger and french fries. He saw that the elderly black man was still being ignored. The priest was in a hurry, so he didn't say anything.

When they brought him his food--a cheeseburger with all the trimmings, french fries and a drink, they still were ignoring the elderly black man, who patiently waited, shifting his weight from one leg to another, as someone may do when they're tired from too much standing. The priest was in a hurry, so he didn't say anything.

They charged him $1.95 (obviously this wasn't a new story). While he waited for his change, he saw that a clearly uninterested employee finally took the black man's order--a hamburger. They brought out a shrivelled, overcooked pattie on a stale dried-up bun, no trimmings, no fries, and nothing to drink. When the black man paid for it, he gave the employee three $1 bills. The employee turned his back on the man and walked away, not giving any change in return. The priest was in a hurry, so he didn't say anything.

And, as he left the restaurant, he heard a cock crow...

We can deny Jesus in all kinds of ways, from what we say to what we do. Sometimes it's what we don't do, as when we are silently complicit in wrongdoing.