Jeremy was born with a twisted body, a slow mind, and a chronic
illness that had been slowly killing him all his young life. Still,
his parents had tried to give him as normal a life as possible
and had sent him to St. Theresa's elementary school.
At the age of twelve, Jeremy was still only in second grade,
seemingly unable to learn. His teacher, Doris Miller, often
became exasperated with him. He would squirm in his seat, drool
and make grunting noises. At other times, he spoke clearly and
distinctly, as if a spot of light had penetrated the darkness
of his brain.
His teacher tried hard to ignore Jeremy 's noises and his blank
stares. Then one day he limped to her desk, dragging his bad
leg behind him.
"I love you, Miss Miller," he exclaimed, loudly enough for the
whole class to hear. The other children snickered, and Doris's
face turned red.
She stammered, "wh-why, that's very nice, Jeremy. Now please
take your seat."
Spring came, and the children talked excitedly about the coming
of Easter. Doris told them the story of Jesus, and then to
emphasize the idea of new life springing forth, she gave each
of the children a large plastic egg.
"Now," she said to them, "I want you to take this home and bring
it back tomorrow with something inside that shows new life. Do
you understand?"
"Yes, Miss Miller!"
The children responded enthusiastically - all except for Jeremy.
He just listened intently; his eyes never left her face. He did
not even make his usual noises. Had he understood what she had
said about Jesus' death and resurrection? Did he understand the
assignment?
The next morning, 19 children came to school, laughing and
talking as they placed their eggs in the large wicker basket
on Miss Miller's desk. After they completed their math lesson,
it was time to open the eggs. In the first egg, Doris found a
flower.
"Oh yes, a flower is certainly a sign of new life," she said.
"When plants peek through the ground we know that spring is
here."
A small girl in the first row waved her arms. "That's my egg,
Miss Miller," she called out.
The next egg contained a plastic butterfly, which looked very
real. Doris held it up. "We all know that a caterpillar changes
and turns into a beautiful butterfly. Yes, that is new life, too."
Little Judy smiled proudly and said, "Miss Miller, that one is
mine."
Then Doris opened the third egg. She gasped. The egg was empty!
Surely it must be Jeremy's, she thought, and, of course, he did
not understand her instructions. Because she did not want to
embarrass him, she quietly set the egg aside and reached for
another.
Suddenly Jeremy spoke up. "Miss Miller, aren't you going to
talk about my egg?"
Flustered, Doris replied, "but Jeremy - your egg is empty!"
He looked into her eyes and said softly, "yes, but Jesus' tomb
was empty, too!"
Time stopped. When she could speak again. Doris asked him,
"Do you know why the tomb was empty?"
"Oh yes!" Jeremy exclaimed. "Jesus was killed and put in there.
Then his Father raised him up!"
The recess bell rang. While the children excitedly ran out to
the school yard, Doris cried. The cold inside her melted
completely away.
Three months later Jeremy died. Those who paid their respects
at the mortuary were surprised to see 19 eggs on top of his
casket ....... all of them empty.