As promised the old man returned two harvests later and he almost
could not recognize the castle. The king greeted the old man and told
him that he was very grateful for his help in bring prosperity back
into his kingdom and wanted to throw a great feast in his honor. But
the old man requested to have the spy glass returned and told the
king that he would be on his way. The king offered the old man great
treasure in exchange for the spyglass. The old man told the king that
he had spoken wisely because the spyglass was worth all the gold in
the land, but that he could keep his gold because they no longer
needed the spyglass.
The king pleaded with the old man that there was still so much to
be done. The old man agreed with the king but told him that they no
longer needed the spyglass because they could see without it. The
old man went on to explain that the spyglass only showed what could
be if the person only believed, and that it was only faith that he and
his people lacked. The king shook his head in disbelief and told the
old man that faith was foolishness. “So says the fool,” said the old
man. The old man went on to explain that faith is the beginning of all
journeys - that it is by faith that the seed is planted, and that the
foundation is dug. That it is by faith that each book is penned and
each song is written. Only with faith can we see that which is not,
but can be. That the eye of faith is greater than the natural eye, for
the natural eye sees only a portion of the truth. The eye of faith sees
without bounds or limits.
The old man told the king that this is why they had failed once, but
now through faith, this is why they were now going to succeed. He
placed his hand on the king’s shoulder and told him that he had seen
what it might be like, now go and make it so.
Although the old man and his spyglass were never seen or heard
from again, the kingdom continued to prosper and became the great
kingdom as it once had been. Yet despite their abundance of food,
beautiful buildings, lush gardens and majestic cathedrals, it was ever
after said of that kingdom that their greatest treasure was their faith.
We must all do our part when it comes to caring for the needs of
our parish. We must always look through the eyes of faith and see
what it can be and then make it so.
Through the eyes of Faith
I can see my future home.
The Spyglass
by Richard Paul Evans
Once there was a great kingdom. The kingdom was know throughout
all lands for its splendor. But through time, all that changed. Now the
once great buildings were falling down and in need of much repair. The
farms were now small and did not grow enough food for the kingdom.
The poor villagers would oftentimes go to bed hungry. The people of this
kingdom were not just poor by way of things, but they were poor of spirit
-for there was not much joy in the village. There were no dances...rarely
was music heard. Worst of all, the people had forgotten why their
kingdom was once great.
To the east of this unhappy land was a beautiful kingdom with great
farms and glorious cathedrals and castles. It made the people even more
unhappy to look on the wealth of their neighbors, for despite their
poverty, the people prided themselves on having once been a great kingdom. The king did not often leave his castle, for he was weary of the
complaints of his subjects. One day there came a knock at the castle door.
There stood an old man with a large walking stick. The old man said, “I
am passing through your kingdom and I am looking for an inn to spend
the night.” The servant told the old man that it was not an inn but a castle. The old man replied, “This is not much of a castle”.
old man impatiently that he had already seen the wonders of the
eastern kingdom and had heard far too much of them already. The old
man told the king that he was mistaken and that it was his kingdom
that he was seeing.
The king raised the spyglass again and this time he recognized the
hills and land as his own kingdom. The pastures were now fields of
grain stretching as far as the eye could see and his own people were in
the fields working and their wagons were overflowing with their
harvest. The king told the old man that it was a trick, but the old man
reassured him that it was no trick. When the king put down the spyglass his kingdom looked the same as before he had looked through the
spyglass, nothing had changed. The old man informed the king that
change requires work, but that one must first see before doing. He told
the king that he had seen what might be and now he had to go and
make it so, and that after two harvests, he would return for his
spyglass.
The servant took the old man to the king. The old man told the king
that he did not look like a king...he was a king of a poor kingdom , so he
looked quite ordinary and poor himself. The king frowned and told the
old man that he was a king of a poor kingdom, with farms that do not
grow, buildings that are falling down, and people who weary him down
day and night with their complaints. He told the old man that they were
once a great kingdom, but that all since had changed.
The king went out into his kingdom on horseback and encountered
many areas that were not being used and overrun with weeds and not
fit for use. The king stopped at a garden, a farm, and a crumbling
cathedral. Each time he stopped to speak to the people and showed
them through the spy glass what it could be like and told them to get to
work and make that vision a reality. Day by day the king went out until
he had visited all the people in the kingdom and had shown them what
it could be like. There were those who looked through the glass and
refused to believe, but the greater part of the villagers looked with
wonder and hope.
The old man asked the king why don’t they just change back to how
they once were. The king replied that they lacked all the knowledge of
what once made his kingdom great. The old man lead the king to the
castle balcony and took out a spyglass. He raised the spyglass to his eye
and looked out over the lands until a smile crossed his face. Then he
handed the spyglass to the king and asked him to do the same. The king
looked through the glass and he could see great farms and gardens,
magnificent castles and cathedrals. He lowered the spy glass and told the
That same year there was a plentiful harvest and the farmers filled
their wagons and barns with grain. But not just the farmers prospered,
but the wagon builders were busy building wagons to carry all the
grain, and the millers were busy milling the grain into flour. For the
first time in a long time, for as long as the villagers could remember,
there was more than enough to eat. Music and dancing filled the
streets, old buildings were repaired and new buildings arose, including
the beginning of the most majestic cathedral in all the land.