The Very Old Man with Enormous Wings, is an interesting story. A sailor type man has come somehow to this small town. No one knows quite how he got there, since he was found during three days of rain, but many have their suspicions. Some say he is an angel; others still a freak of nature. The story really leaves you without really know what he is, or where he came from. Leaving the whole story open ended in a way, for your imagination to run wild.
I feel that this story is just one big metaphor to symbolize when Christ came in human form. And there are many comparisons that parallel with the life of Christ.
He came in an unusual way. Much like the baby Jesus being born in a manger, and to a virgin nonetheless; this old man with wings, though unknown, came to this town in a way just as mysterious.
The “Ragpicker”. In this story the appearance of this old man with wings is that of a lowly pesent. I have reason to believe that this is one of the reasons that he is treated with such disregard.
When Jesus came he was the son of a carpenter; nothing more than common folk. He learned his trade just like every other son in his day; he was to carry on the family business. In Isaiah it was written that there was nothing about him to attract us to him. No physical beauty or sweet aroma. Just like this man with wings, there were only a few things to separate him from us.
“The Neighbor Woman”. The husband and wife in this story go out in search of counsel and bring back the neighbor woman; “… who knew everything about life and death…” “”He’s an angel,” she said…” The wings must have given him away. For I were to think that if I saw something such as him, who did not speak, at least nothing intelligible, that I would pass him off as a drunk.
Throughout Jesus’ life there were those who proclaimed his messiah-ship, and then those who proclaimed his hypocrisy. Saying that he was either the true son of God or an imposter sent to distract us from who or what the real messiah is.
“Father Gonzaga”. Father Gonzaga is that person; the one who isn’t buying the whole angel story. As he enters the chicken coop, where this winged fellow is being kept he is immediately alerted to the fact that he may not be an angel. “…he did not understand the language of God or know how to greet his ministers.” So naturally he can’t be an angel.
I don’t think I remember Jesus greeting the counsel of priests with the expected type of response. He was more unique in that way. Who is man to make rules and regulations any way? Is not everything set into motion by God? I feel as though Christ is similar in this way. He showed respect because they were in a position to receive respect, but never once do I think he gave them the answer they were looking for.
“The Curious… The Crowds”. “… then got the idea to of fencing in the yard and charging five cents admission to see the angel. The curious came from far away.” Amazed at the thought of an angel, or whatever he was, live and held captive on earth was a dream; something that only happened in children’s stories. (Like this one) They came just to see him, to awe at his “splendor”.
They came to hear him, to see him do miracles. They came to see for themselves the things that he was teaching and doing; multitudes of thousands upon thousands. The “Sermon on the Mount” is a classic example. When five thousand people were fed with a small boy’s lunch. They came from near and far, just to see him.
“Treatment”. “ Especially during the first days, when the hens pecked at him, searching for the stellar parasites that proliferated in his wings, and the cripples pulled out feathers to touch their defective parts with, and even the most merciful threw stones at him,...” They threw stones at him? Now if you thought that there was an angel in your midst that you would throw stones at it? I don’t think so. This doesn’t seem to be very logically thinking.
Did they not openly rebuke him? Did Peter, one of his closest friends, not reject him three different times the night of his arrest? Jesus was treated like the worst of sinners though he had no sin to be guilty of. He was spat upon and ultimately crucified. What manner of injustice did he do to deserve this? He offended someone, or challenged someone’s authority; such injustice.
“Making Money”. They had charged 5 cents at the door just to look upon such an interesting creature, as if they had now owned him; and, “With the money they had saved they built a two-story mansion with balconies and gardens and high netting so that crabs wouldn’t get in during winter, and iron bars on the windows so that angels wouldn’t get in.” With iron bars on the windows it [angels] must have been quite the problem in that small town.
Thirty pieces of silver, the cost of our savior’s life. With the money he had saved [“earned”] he went out and bought a field and hung himself for what he had done. Nothing could keep out the continuous haunting from so many demons pursuing his very soul. He must have been possessed by Satan himself. What is the cost of redemption? Is it not your life?
“The Departure”. Then he leaves; no goodbyes, no farewells, but a memory that could never fade. “Then she went to the window and caught the angel in his first attempts at flight… But he did manage to gain altitude.” Elisenda then sighs in relief and is happy that he is finally gone because above all other things; he was an annoyance. There was no purpose for him to be there. They learned nothing during his visit, they weren’t thankful for their new wealth, they were just happy he was gone.
Though when he left he left in a slightly different fashion he was still, in retrospect, look at a nuisance to the religious society. They were happy that he was gone; or was he really even gone? The fact remains that as he left there was a sigh of relief, but also a sigh of sorrow. Not knowing he would come back. Some say after he rose from the dead that there was an impression made on the hearts of those whom he loved; that his legacy lived on.
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