Luke 15:11-31; Psalm 32
July 22, 2012
Today
we are continuing our Dr. Seuss sermon series.
This is week three out of four of exploring how Dr. Seuss stories
illuminate lessons from the Bible. 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.
[8&11]: 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!”
And 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]
[9:00]: To help us out, I’ve asked two youth to play the
parts of the two Zax. Odom is the
North-Going Zax and Nick is the South-Going Zax.
So…
what happened here? 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 just 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. This Dr. Seuss sermon series is one example –
I’ve never done anything like it and Pastor Ken, with his 25 years more of
experience than me, only rarely has.
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 in 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,
like to the point of the riots that happen with some soccer matches in the rest
of the world, is totally different. In
Egypt this past February, 73 fans were killed in a riot at a soccer game, the
deadliest riot since 1996 when 78 fans were killed at a match in Guatemala.[2] That’s extreme fanaticism that brings out the
worst. Or, let’s bring it a little
closer to home. You know, it was in school that those two Zax were
trained to never budge. They didn’t come
up with it on their own. Now, I was
raised a Duke fan. My parents both went
to undergrad at Duke. We lived lots of
places while I was growing up, not moving to North Carolina until I was in high school. When we moved here, I quickly learned that
you had to have a favorite out of Duke, UNC, and NC State, and I was glad I
already had one. However, what I also
learned was that you had to hate the other two schools. You couldn’t even wear those schools’
colors. My mom went back to school for
her master’s at UNC a year after we moved here and in support of her I wore a
UNC Nursing shirt. It was gray with navy
lettering, no light blue or UNC symbol anywhere on it, and I was still given a
hard time by my friends for wearing a UNC shirt. One of the best side effects of dating my
husband was that I could add red back to my wardrobe, since he’s a State grad. I had been trained as a child to love Duke; I
had not been trained to hate UNC or State.
And, honestly, since I’ve been serving here, I’ve even added a little
light blue back to my wardrobe, too. 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.
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, no matter
how extreme the transgression. God
waits with open arms to receive us back, and he’s 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!”
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 regular visitors. 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 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 he wants you to forgive
others, just as you have been forgiven.
We don’t know if the older brother forgives his younger brother for
running off. But I hope today that you
will forgive whoever has wronged you.
It’s part of the Lord’s Prayer, right?
“Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed
against us.” I don’t know who’s
trespassed against you. I don’t know
what grudge you’re carrying. But let it
go. There’s never been a better time to
risk healing a broken relationship than today.
[8&11]: As we’re about to
sing, today is a day of new beginnings. Verse
three says “let us, with the Spirit’s daring, step from the past and leave
behind our disappointment, guilt, and grieving, seeking new paths, and sure to
find.” The altar is always open if you’d
like to come up to pray. I could be
wrong, but I’m guessing there’s something either you need to be forgiven of or
you need to forgive someone else of. So
take a moment and do so. What have you
got to lose?
[9:00]: Today is a day of new beginnings. And it’s all you have. I could be wrong, but I’m guessing there’s
something either you need to be forgiven of or you need to forgive someone else
of. Let’s take a moment and pray, shall
we?
