Fairy tales are our truest stories. They are so true that we tell them to our children, to help our kids understand what it means to be human on a basic level. So when a short fairy tale has been retold for a thousand years, and has corollary stories in cultures as diverse as Germany, India, and South Africa, we should pay attention. We are encountering something that is not a-cultural, but trans-cultural. Something deeply, deeply human.

The tale in question is humpty dumpty. Its the story of a cracked up life; a life that nobody could fix, not even the king’s horses or the king’s men. Who among us hasn’t felt like that? It’s a story that asks a question; a question whose answer is found only in the King himself. A king who descended on Pentecost to reach us where we are, in all our loneliness and shame, and reorient us around himself. A king who responds to our prayers. Full sermon below.