A Lesson from Who-Ville--May 26, 2022

A Lesson from Who-Ville--May 26, 2022

"Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God's Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. Those who are spiritual discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else's scrutiny.  'For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?' But we have the mind of Christ." [1 Corinthians 2:14-16]

It's kind of like the Grinch.  You know the story, whether you first knew the storybook, the classic animated short with the voice of Boris Karloff, or any of the various reboots of more recent decades.  The Grinch is Dr. Seuss' Christmas-hating creature who plots to "steal" Christmas from the citizens of Who-ville by taking their trees, toys, and treats on Christmas Eve.  And when Christmas morning dawns, the rotten, mean ol' no-good Grinch expects to hear cries of anguish and sorrow from little Cindy Lou Who and all the rest of her village... only to discover the Whos are all singing joyfully to welcome Christmas without any of the loot the Grinch pilfered in the night.

And for a moment, the Grinch is absolutely befuddled. He just cannot understand the Whos' behavior, and it seems like utter nonsense that they can still be celebrating Christmas, which as Seuss put it, "came without ribbons, it came without tags. It came without packages, boxes, or bags."  He just doesn't "get" it, but meanwhile, there are the Whos in Who-ville, who do not care at all whether the Grinch thinks they are foolish, and who understand that Christmas means more than the decorations, food, or presents.

The lesson is a bit obvious, and by now it's been made and re-made so many times that there's no surprise to the ending for most folks.  But that moment of sheer dumbfounded confusion on the Grinch's face--in whichever version you're looking at--is close how Paul describes the watching world and its confusion over the community of Jesus.  We've been brought, not just into a new organization or institution, but a whole new way of life and thinking.  We are called to see the world differently, and it will look like nonsense to an outside observer who doesn't "get" it.  For people who have been indwelt by the Spirit of God, that means we'll celebrate it when we see things like love, joy, peace, gentleness, patience, kindness, goodness, and self-control take shape in us (you know, the "fruit of the Spirit" as Paul will call it elsewhere).  The world looks at those things and may just dismiss them as nonsense, or as traits that make you look "weak" or like a "loser," rather than as the gifts of the living God.  And that means we'll have to decide if we will let the world's scoffing or mockery poop our party, or whether we'll continue to sing regardless of what any Grinchy voices think or do.

A great deal of the life of faith is learning to see the world differently because of Jesus--sometimes in a way that looks completely upside down, to be honest.  And then as we learn to see things through the lens of Jesus (and to act differently in light of the way of Jesus), the next challenge is to learn to be comfortable enough in our own belovedness that we are OK with being seen as foolish, weak, or like losers in the world's eyes.  Once we no longer care how the world's Big Deals judge us for loving others, for seeking the good of all, and for being people of peace and justice, we are free.  

And you never know--it might just be our willingess to look foolish by loving like Jesus that finally gets through to someone else who has been stuck in the world's "Me-First" selfishness and obsession with violence.  After all, once the Grinch sees what has happened with the Whos and that his worst attempts to wreck Christmas could not stop them from receiving its truest joys, Dr. Seuss says that his heart grow three sizes that day.  Maybe your and my willingness to look foolish or weak regardless of anyone's approval or understanding will be what draws someone else into the way of Jesus themselves.  

What do we have to lose?

Lord Jesus, give us the courage to look foolish to the watching world as we seek to love with your vulnerable, generous, courageous goodness.