Ravenna, Kansas

 

Daniel Fitzgerald’s book Ghost-Towns of Kansas includes the stories Ravenna and Eminence – two Kansas towns that were competing for the county seat of Garfield County. Both towns had much to gain or lose with the selection, and the competition was fierce. An election was held in 1887, and Ravenna prevailed by a count of 467 votes to 432. There was excitement in Ravenna and a courthouse was constructed. But after an investigation, it was discovered that some traveling workers had voted in Ravenna using the names of dead men. The election was reversed by order of the Kansas Attorney General, and the county records had to be moved to Eminence. When the citizens of Ravenna resisted, a group of men from Eminence came into town, brawled and fought, and came away with the records. Eventually, the Ravenna townsfolk revolted by hiring a professional surveyor who showed the Kansas Legislature that Garfield County had insufficient acreage to be a county. And so in 1893, Garfield County was merged with Finney County – a decision that ended up turning both towns into ghost towns. Today, the Garfield Township comprises the Eastern panhandle of Finney County – and it’s one of the most desolate portions of our state. It was a situation where everyone fought until nobody won.

 

A similar story is told in I Kings 3:16-28, about two women who were in intense conflict. At stake were parental rights: The two mothers had children, and one had died, and now each mother was claiming that the living baby was theirs. How could an impartial judge tell the difference in an era without DNA testing? Solomon offered to have the living child be cut in two, with half being given to each mother, and a contrast emerges…

 

• One mother is possessed with a competitive, jealous spirit. This is a dangerous emotional condition to be in – being obsessed with defeating an enemy even if it means that everybody loses. She tells the king to go ahead and cut the child – so that neither mother can have it. Modern displays of this mindset have let to divided communities, split churches, and even murder-suicide atrocities.
   
• But the other mother is moved by compassion for her child. She has a sacrificial spirit, and is willing to let go of her parental rights for the sake of the child. This is a godly mindset – the kind that was shown when God sent His son into our violent world, so that we could be saved. This is the kind of love that reveals her as the real mother.

 

A lesson in this story is found: Victory is not for those who fight the hardest, but for those who have the most compassion. It is a wise person who can discern between the true nurturers in our world, and the fraudulent ones who fight unto death and leave everyone wounded. Let us pray for the wisdom of Solomon, so that we can discern the kinds of people around us. And let us pray for the compassion of the real mother, so that our county will be a better place.

  

Andrew McHenry, Pastor

Maple Hill Community Congregational Church