THE CLOWNS OF GOD

This passage is from a book entitled, The Clowns of God, by Morris West. In the
> book, a deposed pope has gone through many trials and tribulations and it is the
> time of the Second Coming. When he meets the Returned Christ, the former pope is
> afraid and unsure much like the apostles when Christ first arose. This passage
> takes place in a mountain hideaway where children from a school for Down
> Syndrome are among those present. The Returned Christ is speaking about one of
> these children as he holds her.
>
>
> "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!"
>
> Molly