A table in the sea

Talking of summer there is a great story told by Bob Fulghum in Maybe (Maybe Not) p.202

"It was a hot summer’s day at a waterfront cafe on the Peloponnese Peninsula, Greece. A large canvas awning, spanning the distance to the harbour edge, shaded the patrons. More than 35 degrees in still air. Crowded. Overly crowded. Tempers of both tourists and waiters had risen, creating a tensely quarrelsome environment.

At one table sat an attractive couple. Well dressed in summer fashions of rumpled linen and fine leather sandals. Waiting for service, they held hands, whispered affections, kissed, giggled, and laughed.

Suddenly, they stood up, picked up their metal table, and, carrying it with them, stepped together off the edge of the quay to place the table in the shallow water of the harbour. The man waded back for the two chairs. He gallantly seated his lady in the waist-high water and sat down himself.

The onlookers laughed, applauded, and cheered.

A sour-faced waiter appeared. He paused for the briefest moment. Raised his eyebrows. Picked up a tablecloth, serviettes, and silverware. Waded into the water to set the table and take their order. Waded back ashore to the ongoing cheers and applause of the rest of his customers. Minutes later he returned with a tray carrying a bucket of iced champagne and two glasses. Without pausing, he waded once more into the water to serve the champagne. The couple toasted each other, the waiter, and the crowd. And the crowd replied by cheering and throwing flowers from the table decorations.

Three other tables joined in to have lunch in the sea. The atmosphere shifted from frustration to festival."

I think faith is a sparkle. It's that glean in the eye as the couple, without discussing the matter, picked up their table and headed into the harbour. It dares us to transcend what is normal or expected. The same glean came alive in the waiter, and in the other cafe patrons. It's a sparkle that is caught, not taught. It's also a sparkle that can transform whole environments - like a particular cafe on the Peloponesse a particularly hot day.