How Much Is Your So/u/l/e Worth?

Sometimes we love to run barefoot, and other times we need a pair of shoes. We live in a world where many people have calloused feet because they can’t afford shoes. Foot pain is almost epidemic, no matter what your income is. There are those who buy and collect shoes. Imelda Marcos was known for owning over 3,000 pairs of shoes. On the Midnight Run people search for shoes. There are some in our country who stuff paper in the bottom of their shoes to cover the holes in the soles. You could be wearing Nike or Hoka or New Balance, or even Prada. One thing, for sure, is we all need a pair of shoes.

On a recent trip to Budapest, Kathy and I went for a walk along the Danube to see the Shoes on the Danube Bank memorial to honour the people who were massacred by fascist antisemitic Hungarian militia during World War II. They were ordered to take off their shoes because shoes were valuable and could be resold by the militia after the massacre. The victims were shot at the edge of the water so that their bodies fell into the river and were carried away. The memorial represents their shoes left behind on the bank. There are 60 pairs of shoes which represent 3500 people, including 800 Jews.

It is another indication that life in this world is marked with randomness, violence, and death. Human life and suffering is on display in all parts of this world. These shoes remind us how cheap life is in so many places.

In contradiction to this, the Christian faith is a message that says every life is valuable and important and should never be forgotten. As Albert Schweitzer said so clearly, there needs to be in all our hearts “a reverence for life”.

These empty shoes represent more than a sole. They represent souls held sacred by our Lord and by all of us who hold life sacred.  MEH