The Face of God

“[In 1987 a newspaper photographer was sent to Ecuador to cover a devastating earthquake there. In the midst of incredible suffering, he witnessed a scene that moved him deeply. This is what he wrote.]

"The line was long but moving briskly. And in that line at the very end, stood a girl about 12 years of age. She waited patiently, as those in front of the long line received a little rice, some canned goods or a little fruit. Slowly she was getting closer to the front of the line, closer to the food. From time to time, she would glance across the street. She didn’t notice ahead of her the growing concern on the faces of those distributing the food. The food was running out. Their anxiety began to show more and more, but she didn’t notice. Her attention seemed always to focus on the three figures under the tree across the street. At long last she stepped forward to get her food. But the only thing left was a banana. The workers were almost ashamed to tell her that this was all that was left. She didn’t seem to mind. Quietly, she took the precious gift and ran across the street, where three small children waited—perhaps her sisters and a brother. Very deliberately, she peeled the banana and carefully divided it into three equal parts. She placed the precious food into the eager hands of the three youngsters—one for you, one for you, one for you. She then sat down and began to lick the inside of the banana peel. In that moment, I swear I saw the face of God.”

—Retold by the late Bishop Ken Untener, Saginaw, MI, in his The Little Black Book series