A story is told of The People who lived on a cluster of islands in the Pacific. The dominate beach on the main island was composed of small, smooth pebbles. The central village was located on this beach. At birth, every child born to The People was given a brightly colored mesh bag they were to carry with them throughout their childhood. Anytime they failed at a task, were scolded or did not meet their elders’ expectations, they were given one of the beach pebbles to put in their bag. Every time they succeeded at a task, were praised for an accomplishment or met the expectations of The People, a pebble was removed from their bag. As the children grew, many of the gifted children had few pebbles in their bags while children who were not as clever or had physical limitations had to struggle with ever-heavier bags.

At the age of 14 all children who were born in the same year had to participate in a difficult, daylong race that would take them across the island with their mesh bag. Every child who completed the race before sunset would join in the celebration of their becoming an adult and take their rightful place among The People. Every child who failed would be given a pebble and sent away in disgrace to return the following year. For many of the smaller girls and weaker children the race was very difficult; being burdened with a heavy bag of pebbles made it next to impossible. After a few years many children who had failed no longer participated in the race. Some people felt the race was unfair, but most felt that each child had been given an equal opportunity to become a participating adult among The People.

When Cain was caught in the murder of his brother, his response was quite interesting, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The question probes much deeper than the negative taking the life of another. Cain was asking, am I responsible for the welfare of my brother, the positive support and care of another? This question is central to God’s teachings for the people of Israel and the words of the prophets. The answer was quite straightforward, especially in the words of the prophets. If the people were going to survive as a nation, a unified whole, then all of the people of Israel needed to be treated with dignity and respect. Jesus took things a step further. The love of God translates into the love and care of the neighbor. Neighbor included even the outsider looking in.

This is not simply some “feel good” philosophy. We are not all created with the same talents and abilities. Given any one test of success, some will succeed and others will fail. Life is not composed of one test or one set of criteria. We need the gifts, talents and abilities of everyone. We need to make sure that everyone is able to participate with their unique gifts and view of life. We need to support and care for all people so everyone can be a part of who we are as a people. That way we all stand strong, together.