Sermon Central
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A Wonderful, Imaginative Short Story By Nathaniel ... PRO
Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 24, 2002 (message contributor)
A wonderful, imaginative short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne illustrates the necessity of having the right focus. It is entitled “The Great Stone Face.” The tale centers around a man named Ernest who grew up in a village renowned for a natural wonder that rested just outside its boundaries. Nature had majestically carved in the side of a mountain the features of a human countenance so realistic that from a distance the Great Stone Face seemed positively alive.
All the features were noble and the expression was grand and sweet. Ernest, like all children of the nearby village, was told of an ancient prophecy that at some future day a child would be born in the vicinity who was destined to become the greatest personage of his time and whose countenance, in manhood, would bear an exact resemblance to the Great Stone Face. Upon learning that the promised prophet had not yet appeared, the young Ernest clapped his hands above his head and exclaimed, “I do hope that I shall live to see him!”
Ernest, growing older, never forgot that prophecy learned at his mother’s knee. It was always on his mind. And a s he grew into manhood, Ernest allowed the Great Stone Face to become his teacher – meditating upon the countenance, looking to it for comfort, reading stories about it, speaking of it to those who would hear.
Years passed. Many came into the village claiming to be the promised one. But each time Ernest went out to meet the pretenders, he came away disappointed and sometimes almost despondent. For although these imposters claimed the honor, Ernest knew better. As a result of his devotion to the Face, he had become an expert on it. Surely Ernest, of all people, would know the one when he came. After each disappointment Ernest would return to the Face, peer into it and ask, “How long?” The granite features seemed to reassure him, “Fear not, Ernest, the man will come!”
Ernest was an old man now, his hair gray and the movement of his body slow. The one great sadness of his life was that he had never seen the prophet long foretold. One day a poet famous for his ode celebrating the Stone Face came to visit Ernest. They enjoyed each other’s company and yet each spoke sadly – for they longed to see the Face enfleshed.
The two talked long and, as the day drew to a close, it came time for Ernest’s daily discourse on the Great Stone Face. Each evening inhabitants of the neighboring village assembled in the open air for his stirring oration. There Ernest stood and spoke to the people, giving them what thoughts were in his heart and mind. Delivered with eloquence, the words were powerful because they accorded with his thoughts, and his thoughts had reality and depth because they harmonized with the devoted life he had always lived.
The poet, as he listened, grew teary-eyed. The being and character of Ernest were a nobler strain of...
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