July 12, 2020
Luke 15:11-31
The Zax: Perseverance, Pride, and Forgiveness
Today we are continuing our Dr. Seuss sermon series. This is week two exploring how Dr. Seuss
stories illuminate lessons from the Bible and our own daily life. The parable of the prodigal son that we just
read is familiar to most of us. However,
I don’t know that Dr. Seuss’s story of “The Zax” is as familiar. It’s found in his collection of short stories
called “The Sneetches and Other Stories” and it involves two Zax making tracks
in the prairie of Prax.
One Zax is a North-Going Zax and the other Zax is a
South-Going Zax, and as you might imagine, the prairie of Prax isn’t big enough
for the both of them. As one goes north
and one goes south, they bump into each other, foot to foot and face to
face.
The North-Going Zax says, “Look here, now! I say! You are
blocking my path. You are right in my way. I’m a North-Going Zax and I always
go north. Get out of my way, now, and
let me go forth!”
“Who’s
in whose way?” snaps the South-Going Zax.
“I always go south, making south-going tracks. So you’re in MY way! And I ask you to move and let me go south in
south-going groove.”
Then
the North-Going Zax puffs his chest up with pride. “I never take a step to one
side. And I’ll prove to you that I won’t change my ways if I have to keep
standing here fifty-nine days!”
The South-Going Zax yells back, “I’ll prove to YOU that I
can stand here in the prairie of Prax tor fifty-nine years! For I live by a rule that I learned as a boy back in
South-Going School. Never budge!
That’s my rule. Never budge in the least!
Not an inch to the west! Not an inch to the east! I’ll stay here, not
budging! I can and I will if it makes
you and me and the whole world stand still!”[1]
How
stubborn do you consider yourself, on a scale of 1-10? Anyone on the low end,
1, 2, or 3; you’ve never been described as stubborn? How about in the middle,
4, 5, or 6; you’re kinda stubborn, or stubborn about some things but not
others? As we go up the scale, how about 7 or 8; pretty stubborn? And how about
9 or 10; who is very stubborn? This
is where we get into some of those animal analogies, like bull-headed or
stubborn as a mule. Has anyone ever been called pig-headed? Me too. On the one
hand, this is how stuff gets done. We don’t give up. We see it through.
Perseverance is a good thing, and it’s encouraged throughout the bible. It’s
one of the characteristics of love in 1 Corinthians 13, “Love always
perseveres” (verse 7). In Hebrews 12:1-2, we’re encouraged to “run with
perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer
and perfecter of our faith.” But have you ever heard that explanation between
strengths and weaknesses that says a weakness is a strength abused?
Perseverance is a strength. When it is carried too far, however, is when it
becomes a problem. It needs to be tempered by discernment, perhaps best
described in that Kenny Rogers song, “The Gambler”: “You've got to know when to
hold ‘em. Know when to fold ‘em. Know when to walk away. And know when to run.”
Both Zax decided to hold their cards and not budge.
Neither Zax was willing to give in, willing to take just
one step to the side so that they could continue their tracks. They were each too proud, too stuck in their
ways to even consider a compromise. We
are called to persevere and hold tight to our beliefs, but we must be willing
to consider new ways to live out those beliefs.
Would stepping to one side, or each taking half a step so they could
pass each other, have been a betrayal to their rules? Yes, taking pride in your work, in your
family, and in your church is a good thing.
But when pride makes you inflexible, it’s a problem. When pride makes you think you don’t need
anyone else, as in the case of the prodigal son, it’s a problem. You see, the prodigal son, or, let’s call him
the younger brother, he thought he didn’t need anyone else to make his own way
in the world. He thought he could do it
by himself, as long as he had his daddy’s money. But he didn’t need his daddy, or any other
member of his family. His pride, in
himself, turned into egotism and so he rudely demanded his half of the
inheritance. To do so in that culture
meant that you considered your father dead to you. And he not only acted as if his father were
dead, but wanted his share NOW. His
pride had turned into ugly stubbornness.
It had to be his way and his timing.
And so, his dad acquiesces, even though it hurts. When you’re confronted with someone and it’s
their way or the highway, you’re not left with many choices. I guess the dad figured he was losing his son
either way, so at least this way, the son had some money to help him get
by. Ultimatums aren’t pretty because
they force someone to act a certain way and love never forces. That’s why although we persevere in the race
set out before us and we hold tight to our beliefs, we remain open to new ways
to faithfully live out those beliefs.
There’s more than one way of doing things well and change can be a good
thing. Worshiping outdoors this summer
is one example. We’ve done it at Jennings Chapel before, but not here, and not
regularly. Yet it’s the way we can worship in person and still guard each
other’s health. There is more than one way to persevere and be faithful.
The
next lesson to learn from the Zax is that competition can bring out the best
in us or the worst in us. Healthy
competition can bring out the best, it makes you work harder, study harder,
strive to do better. I remember a math
class in high school where the teacher passed the tests back by row, so you
took yours off the top and saw the grade of the person sitting behind you. Chris always did better than me. I studied more and would ace the test, and
then I’d see his grade as I passed his paper back to him and he’d gotten the
extra credit. I don’t think I ever got a
higher grade than him in that class. But
it made me study more. Unfortunately, in
the case of the Zax, I think it’s safe to say that this competition brought out
the worst in them. It’s like the staring
contest, neither one is willing to blink first.
Or, how about sibling rivalry?
Can anyone relate to that? It’s
what we hear from the older brother after his younger brother returns: “IT’S NOT FAIR! Dad, how dare you accept your son back and
not only that but throw him a party!
He’s thrown away the money you gave him and you welcome him home with a
party?!?! I’ve spent my whole life
working for you, I’ve never disobeyed you or disowned you, like this other son
of yours. And you welcome him
back?!” Anyone remember telling your
parents it’s not fair over something your sibling did? Or hearing it from your own kids? I identify very well with the older brother
in this story; I get him and where he’s coming from. Any other obedient oldest siblings out there,
you do everything you’re asked and are perfectly obedient? And yet your parents
still love your younger siblings, too [sigh].
I was in my early 20s before I ever began to understand either the
youngest son or the father and see a different point of view in this parable
besides the older brother’s. Friendly
rivalry is one thing; fanaticism, and extreme partisanship where the two sides
can’t even talk to each other, is totally different. We read “The Zax” today,
and it’s impossible not to read our political climate in it. How many
stalemates, filibusters, gerrymandering, and deadlocks have we seen over the
past few years?! In the weeks leading up to the 2016 election, I preached on
it. We were all thinking about it. It was an elephant in the room if it didn’t
get addressed. And I was careful to say universally true things. I said both
candidates were made in God’s image. I said both candidates were in need of our
prayers. And I said our country needed prayer. After the election, I preached
on how it felt like we had post-traumatic stress syndrome from the election.
Our political parties feel like the South-going Zax and the North-going Zax
stopped in their tracks, refusing to budge… while the rest of the world goes on
around them. How do we get unstuck? I don’t know, other than it starts with
prayer. If you’re not already, start praying for our election this fall. Pray
for the candidates. Pray for our country. Pray that we can again start to have
conversations across party lines, for the sake of our country. Extreme
fanaticism brings out the worst, and we do not need any more of that. We need
our best. Healthy competition is more like the proverb of how iron sharpens
iron (Proverbs 27:17), making both better, rather than wanting to obliterate
your opponent. I’m a lifelong baseball fan, and I’d always rather watch a game
that’s closer matched and the teams are back and forth on who’s winning,
instead of watching a blowout. Somehow our society has become more about the
blowouts, rather than working to make each team work better and harder. Let
competition and rivalry bring out the best, not the worst in you.
Unlike
most Dr. Seuss stories, “The Zax” has an unhappy
ending. Neither Zax budges, and, of
course, the world doesn’t stand still and wait for them. The last picture in the story is of how the
new highway was built right over those two stubborn Zax and civilization was
built around them. The Zax stay un-budged
in their tracks, their conflict unresolved.
Similarly, Jesus doesn’t give a resolution to the parable of this
family. We don’t know what the older son
decides to do, whether to join the party or to stay mad out in the fields. What we do know is the father’s response to
his sons. His younger son he immediately
welcomes, accepts, and forgives. There
is no hesitation. The father, of course,
represents God in this story, and God is always ready to forgive and welcome
back, no matter how far we have wandered.
God waits with open arms to receive us back, and is willing to let the
past be the past. This is what’s not
fair and what the older brother complains about. To him, the father responds very graciously:
“Son, you don't understand. You're with me all the time, and everything that is
mine is yours – but this is a wonderful time, and we had to celebrate. This
brother of yours was dead, and he's alive! He was lost, and he's found! I have two sons!” The father wants to include both his sons in this celebration. Those of us who have been Christians all our
lives don’t need to be jealous of new Christians. Those of us who have been church members
since we were in utero don’t need to
feel threatened by newcomers. There is
enough room here for everybody. God
wants to include everybody and is willing to forgive everything. God’s the example of extreme forgiveness and radical hospitality and it’s not
ugly. It’s a risk, yeah. It may mean getting told “I told you
so.” It may mean discovering the
long-forgotten cause of a rift from decades ago. God forgives you and wants you to forgive
others, just as you have been forgiven. God
wants you here and your brother across the aisle here as well. We don’t know if
the older brother forgives his younger brother and is willing to extend
hospitality to him. He may stay stuck in
his stubbornness and hold a grudge. I pray that any grudges you are holding you
might begin to let go of today, that you might forgive those who need your
forgiveness. You don’t have any control over how the other person acts, whether
they accept your forgiveness or not, whether they’re ready to let bygones be
bygones or not. You have control over you. And whatever relationship you’re
stuck in, whatever Zax you’re toe-to-toe with, reach out and offer a
conversation. Don’t assume anything. Assuming gets us in trouble and it does
not help us connect. We’re seeking connection. That’s part of why we’re
gathered here in person. So, don’t assume you know. Come with humility and a
desire to understand. Persevere and seek after those things that build us all
up, “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,
gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). What a different world it
would be! And it would look a lot more like God’s kingdom, which is what we’re
told to seek first (Matthew 6:33). Be stubborn about that.
