In an article by Jim McGuiggan entitled “Elephant Men,” we see once again the power of a word well spoken:
“There was a man named Joseph Merrick. He lived from 1862 to 1890 (28 years). He was known as ‘The Elephant Man’ because of the profound deformities that misshaped much of his body including his head and face. Most people treated him as a freak. They used him and abused him. Many people were frightened of him simply because of the way he looked.
In a movie made about his life, there is a scene in which a mob is chasing Merrick through a train station. They finally corner him in a public toilet. Some simply gawk at him; others laugh at him; some yell insults at him. All the while, Merrick is crying out: ‘I am not an animal! I am not an animal! I am a human being! I am a man!’
In time, a doctor named Frederick Treves meets Merrick and begins to treat him as a human being and Merrick begins to live again.
And then one day, Merrick receives a visit from a beautiful and acclaimed actress named Mrs. Kendall. She used exceptional gentleness and sensitivity with him. She exchanges some lines with him from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. When they’re done, Mrs. Kendall says to Merrick: ‘Oh, Mr. Merrick, you’re not an elephant man at all.’
‘Oh no?’ Merrick replies.
She whispers to him, ‘You’re Romeo!’ And then she kisses him gently on the cheek of his grossly deformed face.”
Do you smell grace? If so, go find the Joseph Merricks in your story, give them a kiss and remind them how beautiful they are. Remind them that they are the beloved of God.
Richard Hipps