The Gleaners ~ 1889

 

Fritz non Uhde had an evolved social consciousness. He knew societal and ecclesial right from wrong.  This painting which shows children at work is a reflection of that awareness. As we've seen elsewhere this Lent, he never sentimentalizes or romanticizes children. They are never adorable and precious.

Cyrus McCormick invented the mechanical reaper (grain harvester) in 1831. So these young people are picking over a field that's already been harvested. Gleaning then is picking over a field for left overs — bits of grain or straw.  Shouldn't they be in school? Or out playing? We shouldn't imagine that they were always welcomed on someone else's property. Is that the land owner's house down below in the valley? Will he come out blasting a rifle in the air and yelling, "Get off my property or I'll call the police."  

Where does your mind go while looking at this painting?  I'm thinking of the migrant workers who spend whole days bent picking lettuce, broccoli, strawberries. Let's be honest, they are often hated by people who say they're taking away our jobs but who themselves could not spend an hour bent over let alone a day or who would think it beneath them to do this kind of work. 

It's not uncommon to see pictures of people who have lost their homes to the new super storms—return to where their homes were and "glean" the area looking for something salvageable. Of course, there are the pictures of people in Ukraine bent over picking up the dead or mothers bent over their little children while fleeing shells and rockets. We haven't even seen people returning to their burned-out, bombed-out cities. The pictures suggest there would be nothing left to pick over. 

Much of the world if comprised of gleaners. There are children who live on garbage mountains—who scrape around huge heaps of trash looking for bits of cardboard, tin, aluminum or anything recyclable that could garner them pennies. These children, who stand and breathe in toxins, are often full of disease. 

These are pro-life concerns. Children gleaning is not a charity issue, but a justice issue.  Pope Paul VI said, "If you want peace, create justice."  Why can't we make that happen? What's happened to our hearts that often those who suggest ways of addressing these problems beyond charity is called communist, socialist, idealist, naïve. I often wonder if these people even know what these words mean?

"When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask, 'Why are there poor?' they call me a communist." Dom Helder Camara ~ Brazilian Bishop (1909-1999)