In the Clearing Stands a Boxer
- Stephen Orr
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
(a Steve Orr Bible reflection)
I wasn’t supposed to read it.
I was 11 years old and exploring under the eaves in our attic when I found A Stone for Danny Fisher by Harold Robbins. To say it was inappropriate for an 11-year-old would be an understatement. It’s definitely an adult novel.
The story: A Jewish boy in the 1930s Great Depression learns he can use fighting (his one “skill”) to bring in some money for his family. While pursuing elevating levels of competition and increasing rewards in the boxing ring, he falls in love with a beautiful Catholic girl. But his boxing prowess also brings him to the attention of organized crime. Jewish boy. Catholic girl. Covetous criminals. I'll let your imagination take over from here. Suffice to say: Danny Fisher lives a life filled with troubles.
The one mystery that had eluded me is the meaning of the title. There is nothing in the novel about stones. Nobody gives one to Danny. Reading this week’s Luke passage led me to an answer. There, Jesus poses the question: What loving father would give his child a snake instead of fish, a scorpion instead of an egg? A quick cross check of Matthew’s gospel finds Jesus posing a similar question in Chapter 7: What father would give his child a stone instead of bread?
I believe Robbins thought someone, likely God, had given Danny a raw deal, a "stone" of a life rather than one filled with good.
In the Luke and Matthew passages, Jesus makes the opposite argument as Robbins. We tend to divide these into separate groups: Lord’s Prayer, loving fathers, asking, seeking, and knocking. But Luke delivers them all linked together so we can understand the real point: God loves us and will meet our needs.
Our lives are not about what we want or need. Sure, those things are important. But at the heart of it, we have a loving Father who desires good for us. God is a father who, in His answers to our prayers, far surpasses the loving intent of any earthly father.
Maybe Danny did receive a stone instead of bread, but I reject that it came from God. Tough times come to everyone. We, too, experience just such tough times. But we measure our lives by our relationship with God, not by our circumstances.
Our father gives us the bread.
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There is no direct connection between “The Boxer” by Simon & Garfunkel and A Stone for Danny Fisher. Yet, it perfectly captures the kind of hard life Danny lived. Here it is with lyrics on the screen.
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